By Rebecca Skilton
Mother of two Genesia Webb will be one of the first students to be welcomed to Berwick’s Federation Generation.
Returning to university after the birth of her two children, 16-month-old Sofia and four-month-old Alexander, Genesia will be among the first group of students to undertake their studies at Federation University’s (FedUni) Clyde Road campus.
The university, which will co-exist with the pre-existing Monash University, will offer up to 16 courses in the fields of business, education, nursing, IT and science.
Both institutions will occupy the facilities until the end of 2017, which will then see FedUni becoming the campus’s sole occupant in 2018.
Originally from Pakenham, Genesia began her bachelor of commerce and management at Federation University’s Mt Helen campus in Ballarat in 2014 where she was not only attracted to the concept of a newly developed university but also the student support that FedUni offered.
“They had a lot of extra help programs,” Genesia said.
“If you struggled with a class you could go and get peer support and other students would help as well, so I thought that was pretty cool.”
Another positive for the 22-year-old was the university’s selection criteria.
“They don’t just base it on the ATAR; they also base it on the person themselves,” Genesia said.
“I found that it was a lot more supportive of a student.”
During her time studying at Mt Helen, Genesia also met her husband, Allister, who was taking the same class.
“He thought I was a loner at first because I was sitting by myself,” Genesia said.
She said that Allister had approached her on a day her friend was away.
“He sat next to me and in the class we had to talk to each other about our high school experience, and we happened to have similar experiences.”
However, after falling pregnant with their daughter Sofia, Genesia and Allister decided to relocate back to Gippsland, effectively putting their studies on hold.
“I did a year and a half (at FedUni, Ballarat) and then I was pregnant with my daughter, so I thought we’d move back down this way. It was a bit hard to travel back and forth (to university) … it was a bit much after a while.”
Electing to study closer to home, Genesia and Allister enrolled into Deakin College at Burwood.
However, after complications with her pregnancy, she once again had to place her study plans on hold. Yet despite her short time at Deakin College, Genesia admits that it didn’t hold the same appeal as Federation University.
“We did realise a massive difference when we went (to Deakin College) from FedUni,” Genesia said and that the class sizes were much bigger than what she had become accustomed to at the Mt Helen campus.
“So, as soon as I found out (Federation University) was going to be in Berwick, I said, ‘yep, I’m definitely going to finish my degree and it’s going to be great’.
“I was really excited.
“It’s close to home,” said Genesia, “I’m close to my family for support, that’s a big thing.”
The addition of the Berwick Campus will see FedUni’s existence expand from Ballarat and the Wimmera, maintaining its focus on Victoria’s regional areas.
Federation University’s Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Smith acknowledged the university’s newfound presence within the Casey shire last year.
“(Federation University) appreciates the area is one of the fastest growing in Australia and we’re focused on supporting the local community and producing job-ready graduates,” he said.
“The university is committed to working with local business and industry to boost the economic potential of the region and ensure our programs meet the area’s needs.”
Despite being a relatively new tertiary institution, Federation University boasts a proud 146-year history through its culmination of what were the former University of Ballarat and the Gippsland Campus of Monash University.
So far this year 412 applicants have accepted their offers, with the programs in nursing, education, business and vet and wildlife sciences among the most popular degree programs.
