At 14, Liam left school and found himself adrift. With no school to attend and a mum working all the time, Liam “hung around the skate park a lot”, filming videos with his friends who were budding pro-athletes in the skatepark world.

A pastime that took him from filming action-sports athletes to working on television sets. 

More than a decade later, Liam Andersson stood at the podium to deliver the graduand speech as a psychology (Honours) graduate... 

So, how exactly does a high school dropout, turned filmmaker, end up studying Psychology? It's a journey shaped by his own experience seeking support, and it's anything but linear. 

Growing up in housing commission, raised by a single mum, Liam struggled at school, though wasn’t sure why.  

"I really wanted to do well academically, but socially I just didn't fit into what the school expected me to be," Liam said.  

“It was probably the beginnings of anxiety, trying to understand what these emotions were, and how to navigate them. But not really wanting to acknowledge that reality as a young man.” 

“I had a hard time really communicating that to those around me.”  

So, he left school in Year 9 and floundered through a string of odd jobs in construction and hospitality, before finding his groove as a filmmaker. 

Without the structure of school during his teen years, Liam had to seek out his own support networks. So, he started seeing a psychologist. Around this time, he also reconnected with an estranged brother he discovered at 19 years old.  

Following his brother down to Sydney, Liam continued working in television production. Alongside this, he worked with a psychologist to understand why school never felt right and to develop a plan for his future.  

“I had a really positive experience with a psychologist, and then saw they had the same impact with my brother,” Liam said.  

“I remember sort of reflecting and thinking, ‘if I can have that same impact in even one person, that would be my purpose in life’.”  

From seeking help for his brother, to receiving it for himself, Liam was so inspired by the system that supported him, he started to wonder how he could give back.  

Fast forward to 2019, Liam had been out of school for nearly a decade, working in TV production and living in Sydney. Somewhere along this winding journey, he found a purpose he never could have predicted. 

“When I was in Sydney, I continued to see a psychologist, just because I think it's good practice. 

“Everyone could benefit from someone to talk to, particularly young men”.  

During these sessions, Liam’s psychologist planted the seed of a career in this field, for himself.  

“She made a comment to me one day about pursuing a psychology degree. I wasn’t sure if I could do it as a non-school leaver, I felt like maybe it was too late for that. 

“But she said, ‘you’re going to be 30 no matter what, do you want to be 30 and a psychologist, or 30 and not?’” 

Liam knew he wanted to help people the way psychologists had helped his brother (and him). So, he applied to a university preparation program and started night classes.  

Still in New South Wales at this point, Liam got admitted to Psychology with UNSW but struggled to keep up with expenses, trying to juggle working full-time alongside studying. 

So, he transferred to UniSC, moved back to Queensland and graduated in April of this year.   

Unsurprisingly, Liam thrived as a Psychology student.  

Liam engaged his local community while earning his degree, spending three years volunteering as a Lifeline crisis supporter and working as a case manager for a transitional recovery program. In this role, he supported patients transitioning from hospital psychiatric care and contributed to UniSC’s Be Well program. 

Nationally, the shortage of psychologists is significant. Psychology Senior Lecturer, Dr Rachael Sharman, said people who brought lived experience to the profession, such as Liam, were extremely valuable to an industry that was struggling to meet demand for more services.  

“Government modelling shows access to psychology services is already falling short by 57 percent, highlighting the need for skilled psychologists across Australia,” Dr Sharman said.  

“For people with lived experience, studying psychology offers a unique opportunity to turn personal insight into meaningful impact, helping ensure more Australians can access the care and understanding they need.” 

However, after 12 interviews and eight offers from different institutions to continue his studies with a Master of Clinical Psychology and Clinical PhD, Liam decided to take a breather...which, in his world, means spending a year as a researcher across several UniSC labs. 

He’ll continue some work with the healthy brain ageing lab at the National PTSD Centre, the BeWell lab and with UniSC’s road safety lab. 

Liam attributes his academic success to the “connected communities” he became a part of at UniSC.  

“Getting connected with the communities here helped me a lot. If I didn’t join the Psychology Club as soon as I got to UniSC, I doubt I would have achieved the academic results I wanted.” 

“Connecting with peers who also wanted to achieve the same goals really helped me and offered me the opportunity to give back.” 

It’s a full-circle moment for a kid who once had to build his own support network from scratch, to now, as someone who spends his working life helping build it for others.