LUMEN Spring 2022 - Flipbook - Page 26
“As a kid, I didn’t even know about university,
I had no idea what it was,” said Sarah.
“I’d never even really been into Adelaide because
I lived so far north that coming into town was a
once-a-year thing to go shopping.”
It’s students like Sarah that Children’s University
Australasia and Africa Managing Director Kiri
Hagenus sought to engage when she brought the
program to Adelaide nine years ago.
“If you don’t know what’s out there, what you can
do for your career, and what opportunities are
available to you, then how are you going to know
what you want to do with your life or where your
passions lie?” asked Kiri.
“Children’s University goes out and breaks down
the idea that universities aren’t for these children
as university is a place of learning for every single
person, regardless of their background or their
circumstances,” she said.
“It’s the idea that this university is your university
if you want it to be.”
For Sarah, “being familiar with the University of
Adelaide through Children’s University helped to
close the gap and made it feel like less of a leap”.
“I knew I wanted to do something more in my life.
I knew I wanted to be in medicine, but I didn’t
know what that entailed or how to get there,”
she said.
Sarah is now intent on a career in research to
“delve into the mechanics behind diseases”.
Children’s University helps reveal its students’
passions through a program of extracurricular
educational experiences paired with regular visits
to the University’s campuses.
The only prerequisite for a learning activity is that
it must link back to a higher education pathway.
“If a child plays a sport, it doesn’t necessarily
mean they’re going to be an elite athlete but it
might uncover their passion,” explained Kiri.
“There’s sports marketing, sports engineering,
physiotherapy, exercise science – all types of things
that mean you can be part of the sport you love
and are passionate about.”
The children accrue stamps, indicating hours of
participation, in their ‘Passport to Learning’, and
their achievements are recognised at a formal
graduation ceremony.
“It really addresses two sides of things,” said Kiri.
“Through the learning destinations you’re getting
children in touch with what they’re passionate
about, and then by bringing them onto campus
you’re getting them familiar with the university
setting and the opportunities it can present.”
24
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
“Children’s University goes out
and breaks down the idea that
universities aren’t for these
children as university is a place
of learning for every single person,
regardless of their background or
their circumstances.”
While the learning experiences and campus visits
work in tandem to position tertiary education as a
possibility for Children’s University students,
the graduation ceremonies cement it as an
attainable pathway.
Children’s University Australasia and Africa have
swelled from 22 students receiving awards in its
inaugural year to 5,300 graduates at 13 ceremonies
across Australia, New Zealand and Mauritius
in 2021.
These graduation ceremonies have been a
cornerstone of Children’s University’s approach
from the get-go, and with good reason.
“It’s the idea of acknowledging their
accomplishment and their learning,” said Kiri.
“Again, it’s building that story for them, especially
those children who don’t know anyone who’s ever
been to university.
“When you see that ‘aha moment’ in a child’s eyes
or their parents’ eyes, that’s what’s important, that’s
what’s powerful.”
This sentiment is echoed by Sarah, who not only
experienced it firsthand at her own ceremony in
2013 but also witnessed it when she returned to
Bonython Hall as the Master of Ceremonies
in 2021.
“There were so many students compared to when
I graduated from the program,” said Sarah.
“They were all so happy, you could see that they
were very proud of themselves.”
It’s a full-circle moment for the ambitious
microbiology student who embodies the vision
Kiri and her team set out to achieve eight years ago.
“This is exactly why we did it in the first place; this
is everything we’ve fought to do now coming to
fruition,” said Kiri.
“Every child has aspirations, and the University has
a job to support those aspirations, guide them, stand
with them, and walk next to them throughout their
learning journey.
“Children’s University is community driven, and
everyone has to be involved to make this work – the
more people that want to be involved, the more
children we can reach.”
