Not everyone takes the same path to university – just ask 44-year-old Education student, aquatic centre instructor and lifeguard Mathew Wenzel.

Mathew's work history includes several years running aquatic centres in Queensland and Victoria, landscape gardening and a peace-keeping mission deployment to the Solomon Islands for the Army Reserve.

“I enrolled in USC’s Bachelor of Primary Education after a plan to work in Vietnam fell through, creating an opportunity for me to focus on building a career instead of just getting a job,” Mathew said.

“My family sold our house in Victoria a few years ago anticipating that we would be overseas for a number of years, so when it didn’t eventuate the money from the sale allowed me to invest in a career path as teacher.

“I have always enjoyed working with children through my involvement in the aquatic centre industry, so teaching is something that I knew I would love."