\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase keeps coming up throughout my interview with Curtin\u2019s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jeanette Hacket who will retire in August this year.<\/p>\n
I ask her why she is passionate about education. She answers: \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you be?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face mirrors her excitement as she explains: \u201cWhen I was going to university, only seven per cent of the population achieved a university degree \u2013 now close to 40 per cent of the 25 to 34 year olds achieve a degree and the women outnumber the men. That\u2019s a huge change in a short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEducation is key \u2013 if you have that you have better access to healthcare, you find it easier to get work and are paid substantially more. It makes the biggest difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Professor Hacket started out in teaching before switching to law. She credits several mentors with encouraging her studies. \u201cThey seemed to think I could and that was an eye opener for me.\u201d After her first child and her first degree, her mother asked her if she thought she had done everything possible. She then enrolled in a postgraduate degree.<\/p>\n
[youtube]http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=113m-wZZ_HM[\/youtube]<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen need to see other women being strong leaders,\u201d she says. \u201cDo you see yourself as being able to take over the world?\u201d In her eyes, it\u2019s the responsibility of being a role model for the people around her. \u201cThey often don\u2019t realise that they can do something until someone asks them \u2018Why not?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I ask her why she\u2019s retiring, her words paint a graph. \u201cIt takes five or six years to change things,\u201d she says. \u201cThen you\u2019ve reached the optimal period and you move on so others can come and do their best work in the same environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that Curtin has a \u2018Can do change\u2019 attitude,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s important because you cannot do the same thing forever \u2013 you have to adapt.\u201d She cites Curtin as a great place to work. \u201cMy role has been to always look forward at how we can improve or achieve our goals, rather than looking back.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as she leaves she has plans. Taking her grandchildren camping and then cycling along the Munda Biddi Trail are some of them. \u201cI\u2019m fit and I\u2019m strong so I am really excited. I want to do these things with my family because balancing the family and the work has always been a challenge.\u201d She acknowledges her supportive husband, who has noticed her becoming more relaxed as she winds down her duties.<\/p>\n
She isn\u2019t leaving a passion behind. She plans to do more to give people from disadvantaged sectors of society more access to education. Optimistic? Energetic? Yes.<\/p>\n
Her formula for success? \u201cEducation, participation (such as volunteering) and resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n
And of course the attitude: \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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