After Henrietta Taylor visited Griffith’s Gold Coast campus as a Year 11 student, she just wanted to skip Year 12 and go straight to university.
As part of a school tour from Upper Coomera State College, Henrietta was introduced to and fascinated by the facilities on show at Griffith Law School and the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Finally, and so much quicker than she thought it would, the time to go to university has arrived.
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She will start a double degree at Griffith University in 2016 after last Saturday morning’s OP results brought her the news she had been hoping for.
“I was so nervous when nine o’clock came around,” the 17-year-old says. “I didn’t want to look and decided to wait an hour. When I did log on, I expected I would have to click through a few pages but it just popped up on the screen in front of me: OP2.
“I didn’t know what to do. Should I go and find Mum and tell her or just let it sink in? I was emotionless, which was very weird.”
Tears
Soon afterwards Henrietta jumped on a train to Brisbane where she was working for the day at the South Bank Markets.
“I was halfway there when it hit me. I started shaking and there were tears in my eyes. I started looking out the window so other passengers wouldn’t see.
“I remember thinking it has all fallen into place and I’ve got nothing to do with school anymore.”
Those mixed feelings have now been replaced with excitement about what lies ahead.
“I’m looking forward to getting a feel for university life. We had been told they are the best years of your life, so I want to see what that’s like.”
Her decision to study a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice was nurtured by her interest in legal studies at school and a personal passion for law. Being able to combine both bachelor degrees at the same time made Griffith an obvious choice for Henrietta.
“I found criminology so exciting on the day I came to Griffith as a Year 11 student and, for me, doing a double degree is more exciting than doing law on its own.
“I hope it might mean more job opportunities in the future too.”