Jody defies the odds to complete Digital Media course

By Greg Chapman

Jody Knight is the epitome of perseverance, battling chronic pain and health issues for almost a decade to complete her Bachelor of Digital Media at CQUniversity.

The 58-year-old woman who lives in Bella Creek, near Imbil in the Gympie region of Queensland, recently graduated from the course, completing a nine-year journey which began with CQU’s Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS) course.

Jody’s journey started when she saw an advert for CQU on a bus in Imbil in 2012 and it spurred her to take a new path in life.

“I am disabled through chronic pain and health issues, and I wanted more from life than sitting around in pain all day,” Jody said. 

“I thought I'd like to be an artist of some kind, and so I looked into what courses were on offer at CQU and found the Bachelor of Digital Media Course very interesting.”

She said after attending an open day she enrolled in STEPS and successfully completed the course, opening the door to start the Bachelor of Digital Media in 2015.

Although Jody's health condition raised many challenges, her determination and support from family and CQU staff kept her going.

“At first, I could cope with doing two units per term, but I had to realise that I could only do one unit of study per term as I was stressing myself too much,” she said.

“I was also stubborn initially because I didn't want to register as a disabled student, but I soon realised I was only hurting myself by not doing that so I got an Accessibility Plan organised.”

The Accessibility Plan provided Jody extensions on assignments when her condition became unmanageable. 

“My health has taken quite a beating over the last nine years while studying, so it's taken great willpower to keep going,” she said.

“I really loved trying all the different aspects of digital media in the first-year subjects such as illustration and visualisation, photography, digital video and audio, web design, animation, graphic design, media writing and communication in a professional context.

“I wanted to feel proud of myself (by doing the course) and I wanted my mum and dad, my son and daughter and my partner to be proud of me too. That's what kept me going. I also wanted something I could do even if I did have to be sitting down a lot because of my condition, and thankfully, I have that now.

“When I completed the course, I cried happy tears of relief and pride for about 20 minutes. I can’t explain the feeling I felt. 

“I was so amazed I'd done it and quite well too. Mum and dad are very proud by the way. It's funny how even at 58 years old I still wanted to make my mum and dad proud.”

Jody said she was proud of the work she completed during the course including several short films, her photography and 2D animation assignments. 

“The photography assignment covered the birth of one of my grandchildren that ended up being quite complicated as he was born early and one of his lungs collapsed. Everything turned out fine in the end, but the photographs really tell the story quite well,” she said.

Jody said she hoped to use the skills and knowledge learnt from the course to make more short films, animations, music videos and documentaries on various topics and genres. 

“I also want to help organise art installations that involve kids during school holidays especially in rural areas where kids have limited play/fun activities on offer at times,” she said.

“I have already done some graphic design work, and I'd like to keep doing some more if possible. I realise that at 58 years old and disabled I'm not likely to be offered a job any time soon, but I've done this so I can be my own boss and do the things I want to do. 

“I'm going to be who I want to be after all, and for that I'm extremely grateful to CQU and its wonderful staff."