James’s transformation through learning, travel and adventure

It was a hard time for the whole family.

James McMurray ended up leaving high school so he could help care for his mum, who was experiencing seizures triggered by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

He moved from Maleny in the Sunshine Coast hinterland to Melbourne so he could be there for her, working menial jobs so they could afford groceries.

Then COVID happened. He lost his job.

With so much uncertainty and the looming threat of COVID, they returned to Queensland, where there were more family members.

They pooled resources and were able to assess the threat of the pandemic together.

James thought that was it – cleaning chicken ovens at a supermarket was all life had in store for him.

But his brother persuaded him otherwise.

James had always been close to his brother. When his brother spoke, James listened.

His brother had already enrolled graduated from a Business degree and had excelled in it.

He saw a lot of potential in James too, encouraging him to enrol in the same pathway program he’d done.

That was the Tertiary Preparation Pathway (TPP) – a free, six-month program designed to ease people without a lot of academic experience into university and help get them into a degree if they don’t meet prerequisites.

“He just told me he thought I was really intelligent and saw a lot of potential in me,” James says.

One week in, James realised he’d made the right decision.

“I made friends in the first week,” he says.

“I think the vibe at UniSC is quite different to other unis too. It’s very chill. The tutors are very supportive.

“There wasn’t a lot of pressure either, which I was worried about.”

One area James never thought he’d be interested in was psychology.

His father was a psychologist. James had seen the emotional toll it could take on someone who dedicated their life to helping people heal their mind.

But when he took Statistics as one of the TPP subjects, that all changed.

Aside from loving the subject, the lecturer opened his eyes to all the pathways available in psychology.

The other big influence on James during TPP was his Business Skills academic, who convinced him to pursue business as a degree.

The result – James enrolled in a double degree in Business and Psychology. An impressive step for someone who was uncertain about uni prior to starting.

TPP program lead Dr Greg Nash says James’s story would resonate with many of his students.

“TPP is designed for students like James,” Dr Nash says. “Someone who has ability but lacks confidence or a traditional pathway into to uni.

“Once those barriers are removed and they’re given the right support, their trajectory can change pretty quickly.”

Another aspect of uni that left a big impression on James from his time studying TPP – the travel opportunities available to students.

One of those included a New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant to visit Japan on a whirlwind trip with a group of other UniSC students.

As someone who grew up learning Japanese and often had Japanese exchange students stay with him, the trip whet his appetite for cultural discovery.

But he was worried about leaving his mother, who had made remarkable progress in treating her PTSD. Even so, James fretted.

It was only at his mother’s insistence that he applied for the New Colombo Plan Scholarship – an Australian Government initiative for university students to study and travel overseas in the Indo-Pacific for up to 19 months.

James submitted his application at the eleventh hour, not thinking he stood a chance of being accepted.

“I had no faith I was going to get in,” he says.

“I was at home working on an assignment when I found out I’d been shortlisted. I couldn’t believe it.”

New Colombo Plan Scholarship

The Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live, study and intern in the Indo-Pacific region.

He was awarded the scholarship, and immersed himself in the Japanese culture for the full 19 months.

He studied at Doshisha University in Kyoto. He learnt the language. He met people. Made contacts. Developed friendships.

One of the highlights was the internships including at Mitsubishi – the global behemoth made up of more than 600 companies that touches nearly every part of modern life.

In a land of giants, the other conglomerate James interned at was Kirin Holdings.

As a cornerstone of the Mitsubishi Group, Kirin not only includes a beverage portfolio that encompasses Australian breweries such as XXXX and James Squires, it’s also branched into health, wellness and pharmaceuticals.

Then there was the internship with the Australian Consulate-General, where he helped AusTrade in the Australian pavilion at World Expo, setting up massive events to promote business and economic opportunities.

“I was able to meet so many incredible people I would never have been able to meet otherwise,” James says.

“I not only made a lot of really good connections but long lasting ones as well.

“I’m still in contact with a lot of the people I worked alongside and learnt a lot from – they’ve become friends and people I may work alongside in the future.”

James’s life has changed a lot since he started uni.

“It’s been absolutely life changing,” he says.

“I’ve had so many different experiences and met so many amazing people studying here – I’ve completely flipped as a person. I can’t recognise myself.”

“When I first came to uni, I was very shy – very introverted,” he says.

“I guess I was very anxious and wasn’t able to connect easily with people.

“But people here were just really accepting of me in a way that allowed me to open up and develop these skills.”

James is now close to graduating from his double degree, weighing up postgraduate study or a potential job opportunity in Japan, aiming to propel himself into a career working between Australia and Japan in a way that benefits both countries.

A lot has changed for James’s family too since he started his degree. As mentioned earlier, his mother has had an extraordinary transformation.

Part of the reason James enrolled in Psychology was to learn tools to help his mum cope with her PTSD. Turns out it wasn’t necessary.

“My mum is highly intelligent so already knew everything I was trying to help her with anyway,” James says.

“She ended up making pretty much a full recovery from her PTSD.

“By building around the damage in her brain, she was able to create new pathways, which helped her remission.”

He pauses to think for a moment, explaining she has improved so much she’s moved home to Denmark, meaning more travel is now on his horizon.

“She hasn’t had a seizure in about three years,” he says, giving a sort of nice punctuation mark to finish his incredible story of growth and transformation.