If someone had told Stuart McGibbon that he'd be a university student in his 50s, he would have laughed at them.
But that was before a redundancy ended his 24-year banking career and a trip to Europe to follow a major golf tournament prompted him to rethink what came next.
One year later, Stuart has nearly finished his first year of a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science at La Trobe University's Bendigo campus.
"Friends and family often say what stands out most is my willingness to chase a dream at this stage of life," Stuart said.
"At 52, I believe age is just a number. This is a major career shift, but it is one driven by genuine passion and we only get one life to live."
Ahead of La Trobe's Bendigo Open Day on Sunday, 23 August, Stuart is encouraging prospective students to explore where university could lead them.
Stuart said the change had given him a "new lease on life" but adjusting to university life after decades in the workforce wasn't without its challenges.
"The university environment is very different from when I finished year 12 so returning to a learning mindset has been one of the biggest challenges," Stuart said.
Following university, Stuart plans to relocate to Europe and work with the DP World Tour in its high-performance team.
"I still feel I have plenty of working life ahead of me and am excited by the prospect of building a meaningful second career," he said.
Bendigo Head of Campus Marg O'Rourke said Stuart's journey reflected the growing number of people returning to study to upskill, change careers or pursue a long-held passion.
"There is no single pathway into university or a rewarding career. Stuart's story shows it's never too late to take that next step," Marg said.
"We're seeing more people choose to study at different stages of life, whether they're looking to advance in their current field, transition into a new career or gain the qualifications needed to pursue a lifelong goal.
"As regional Victoria's university, La Trobe is committed to making higher education accessible and flexible for people from all backgrounds and at every stage of their career journey."
While Stuart is embarking on a new career journey, Julie Oberin AM's story highlights the lasting impact of a La Trobe education.
The 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient is reflecting on a diverse career in social work 40 years after graduating from Bendigo.
Raised on a dairy farm, Julie completed a Bachelor's degree in social sciences at La Trobe while raising two young children in the 1980s. She describes access to higher education in regional Victoria as critical to her future opportunities.
Since graduating, Julie has spent more than three decades supporting women and children experiencing family violence, leading teams of social workers while also contributing to policy and legislative reform through advocacy work.
Julie said studying social sciences, followed by a non-clinical Master's degree in social work, opened doors she could have never imagined.
"I couldn't help thinking that I'd gone from milking cows at Goornong, just outside of Bendigo, to delivering a speech at the United Nations in front of hundreds of people," Julie said.
"There are so many opportunities and aspects to this work where you can use your skills and knowledge to do amazing work to help create a better world."
Throughout her career, Julie encouraged social workers to see themselves as advocates for broad change.
"I always emphasised to my staff that their role wasn't just to support the women and children coming through the door, but to advocate for social change and improve the system response for future families needing support," Julie said.
Together, Stuart and Julie's stories highlight the many pathways that begin at La Trobe's Bendigo campus.
The Bendigo campus Open Day will be held between 9am and 2pm on Sunday, 23 August.
- Register for Open Day here
