Medal for Academic Excellence winner Samantha ‘Sami’ Robinson’s journey to graduation has the distinct parable of a butterfly emerging from the chrysalis. 

From a young age Sami knew she was blessed with, and fascinated by, creativity. 

But it wasn’t until she started a Bachelor of Communication at the University of the Sunshine Coast that all the skills and dreams that lay dormant felt ready to unfurl their wings. 

Sami’s story begins with an ambitious kid, a few chapters of self-doubt, trying other jobs that didn’t quite fit, then facing some of life’s biggest challenges head-on to get to where she wanted. 

“I actually grew up in New Zealand and by the age of 15 I was working for a TV show, in a support role where I used to answer phone calls from the audience,” Sami recalls. 

“At that stage my goal was to become the host of that show. I knew exactly what I wanted to be. 

“When we moved to Australia, I started my own YouTube channel and made all these cringey videos … but then I kind of lost my way a little bit.”

Fresh out of high school in 2016, Sami enrolled in a double degree at a different university, combining creative industries and business. 

But she stumbled at the first hurdle and, as she recalls, found it difficult to regain her footing. 

“I got panicked, failed an assignment, then didn’t think I was capable of doing it anymore,” Sami says. 

“I ended up leaving uni and applied for every single job I could find, and the only company that responded was in insurance and banking. 

“For a creative person like me, it didn’t feel quite right, so after trying it for a while I then took some time off. 

“After that, I got into teaching children how to swim, then undertook a diploma in childhood education. 

“It’s been a long and winding road to reassuring myself what I wanted to do with my life.” 

It wasn’t until a few months after Sami got married at the age of 24 that she commenced her Bachelor of Communication at UniSC, with a particular interest in journalism.

A resident of North Lakes, Sami enjoyed the choice of studying at a campus without trekking into central Brisbane and battling the traffic. 

To her additional amazement, there was only a small number of students in her class and one of her lecturers was none other than current Sunshine Coast Mayor and former news presenter Rosanna Natoli. 

Sami got the opportunity to know Rosanna well and that relationship became one of the encouraging factors towards a very different study experience this time around. 

“I really admired Rosanna’s career, which certainly added to me enjoying the early subjects,” Sami says. 

“I’d say 60 percent of my time with Rosanna was in a one-on-one situation, and that was incredibly valuable. 

“Another major factor to me completing the Bachelor was that I stopped comparing myself to other people and found more self-assurance to do things at my own pace.” 

This “own pace” included the birth of Sami’s son, partway through her studies. 

Sami when she was working in insurance

At a time when younger classmates were already heading out into the world to gain on-the-job experience, Sami recognised she had to savour and celebrate her own life. 

She pulled back on her studies, determined to give motherhood her fullest attention, sometimes just doing one subject at a time to inch towards graduation. 

In a sense, the life-changing experience also became her professional awakening. 

“I’m certainly better for it,” says Sami, who now has more than 50,000 followers across her social media channels, mostly generated by motherhood content. 

“I wouldn’t have even considered some of the things that have become my hallmarks if I hadn’t gone through pregnancy, childbirth and raising a toddler. 

“A big reason people know me is that I offer tips on places that are safe to go with your young child, or things to do when you are out of ideas. 

“I wanted to produce something that would take the load off other parents who’ve been to the same park 500 times, to help them experience something new and not feel overwhelmed.”

Aside from establishing a niche, Sami also found the positive feedback from likeminded parents a motivating force and a shot in the arm for her confidence. 

People were getting in contact to say they’d lived in their neighbourhood for more than a decade and, thanks to Sami, were only now discovering some of their surrounds. 

This was exactly the type of buzz and joy she’d wanted to bring to the world. 

That theme of wanting to make other people smile can be witnessed several times over in Sami’s story. 

As she drew closer and closer to finishing her studies, the causes for happiness only grew more plentiful. 

“By virtue of being a bit older than my classmates, I was definitely called upon to offer life advice at times, even hand-me-down clothes,” says Sami, who graduated aged 28. 

“I became really good friends with classmates and saw them go on to score some awesome opportunities working on things like the Brisbane Olympics preparation. 

“And then to end it all with the Medal for Academic Excellence was completely unexpected. 

“I hadn’t won an award since a participation medal I received in a promotion run by a breakfast cereal company when I was a kid … I’m not even joking. 

“Honestly I was bewildered, particularly as someone who started out not even sure I could pass.”

Sami’s current portfolio captures numerous specialities. There’s social media strategy, brand and content creation, photography and a broad array of media services. 

All of it is on display on her website, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook accounts. 

She’s also dipped her toes back into YouTube for the first serious time since her mid-teens. 

“Somehow I’ve ended up doing exactly what 15-year-old me wanted by telling stories, creating, and connecting with people,” Sami says. 

“Watch this space.”