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Science student to graduate with top marks
University of the Sunshine Coast graduand Roslyn Clapperton, 33, has achieved what most students can only dream about – a perfect academic record.
The Nambour Plaza Chemmart Pharmacy dispensary technician has completed her Bachelor of Science (Sport and Exercise Science) degree with a grade point average (GPA) of 7, excelling in every subject she studied.
She will graduate in April and has been nominated for the Chancellor’s Medal.
Roslyn said her study success came from being organised, having a passion for learning, working with “study buddies” and taking time out to relax and socialise.
“I always started studying at the start of the semester and didn’t leave it all until the end,” she said.
“I treated every piece of assessment as something important. I made sure I did the best I could do in everything so that, by the time I went into an exam, I could pass the subject if I didn’t do well on the exam.
“It wasn’t so much about getting top marks. It was a desire to understand what I was learning. I didn’t like the idea of going into an exam and not being able to answer a question."
Roslyn said the quality of USC’s teaching staff and the University’s enabling courses for first-year students also were key factors in her success.
“I’ve been very happy with the lecturers that I’ve had. They’ve got life skills. They’ve been out there and done the job and they’re very helpful,” she said.
Roslyn’s high GPA is even more remarkable given that she finished Year 12 in 1991 with a low Tertiary Entrance (TE) score of 790.
The talented student plans to become an exercise physiologist to help improve the lives of those with chronic illness. But for now, she is studying her Honours (in peripheral arterial disease) at USC.
“I’m doing my Honours this year, just to see if I like research and if that’s an avenue I’d like to explore later on,” she said.
During her studies, Roslyn received the Sunshine Coast Sports Medicine Clinic Bursary (2006), the Lambert Innovation Prize in Science (2007), an Australian Federation of University Women Bursary (2007), and the Heart Foundation Summer Scholarship (2007).
— Terry Walsh