Three – that’s how many times Sue Sweeney has changed careers.  

Not jobs. Careers. That’s a daunting prospect – to make a change such as that.  

They were successful careers too, working for years in industries, developing skills and contacts before deciding to start over.  

Business owner. Finance. Fitness.  

“It is scary,” she says. “But also, I have enough faith in myself that I'm making the right choice for me,” she says.  

“I’m excited for it to take me on to my next adventure." 

In this case, Sue’s next adventure is into the complex world of criminology – a degree she’s enrolled in to make a difference in her community.

Sue left high school after finishing Year 11 – she was disengaged, choosing instead to work full-time, carving out successful careers for herself.  

But after many changes in her life, she was left feeling unfulfilled, believing she had more to give – especially when it came to issues of social justice.  

"I was the kid at school that would have stood up and argued on somebody else's behalf,” Sue says, explaining how she was originally drawn to study law.  

But because she never finished high school, Sue didn’t have an ATAR, or an OP – as it was known in Queensland back then – so she enrolled in the Tertiary Preparation Pathway, a free bridging program designed to help people get into the degree they want to study if they don’t meet the prerequisites. 

"Having left school at the end of Year 11, didn't attempt Year 12, had never done any serious study since then, I had no idea what to expect, what the expectation would be of me,” Sue says.  

"There was a certain fear of, 'Am I going to fit in here? Am I going to be accepted?'" 

"But I found TPP really gave me the skills so that when I did enrol, I felt more confident when I walked into classes for the first time."

While her intention was to study law, a careers adviser encouraged Sue to explore Criminology.  

After reading more about the degree, she was drawn to it.  

"With criminology, it's more about people," Sue says. "A lot of the things I'd done in the past were people-centred, so it felt more aligned with where I saw myself. 

"I want to have an impact in making our community safer." 

Apart from the human aspect of the degree, the quality of the teaching staff has been a real stand-out for Sue.  

"Most of our lecturers and tutors have actually worked in industry,” Sue says.  

"They can talk to us about what it's going to be like for us when we get out into the workforce." 

The undergraduate program offers high-achieving student opportunities to work alongside academics under the Criminology Research Internship and Mentoring Experience (CRIME) which has led into her recent placement with law enforcement working on an evaluation with criminology academics.    

Associate Professor Nadine McKillop who has been supervising Sue says she has the qualities often seen in other successful criminology students and researchers.  

“She's curious, community-minded and driven by a desire to make a difference,” Associate Professor McKillop says.  

“Her interest in crime prevention and community safety makes criminology a natural fit for her. It’s great to see her excelling in this space." 

Now approaching the end of her degree and with these experiences in hand, Sue is now considering an honours year and a future in research, with interests spanning crime prevention, online safety and sexual violence prevention. 

"My path that I've been on since I started is crime prevention,” she says.  

"By going into research, that's what I want to be researching, crime prevention." 

Talking with Sue, it’s easy to get the sense of why Criminology is such a good fit for her.  

It’s human-focused, with issues of social justice and fairness underpinning it. It’s broad enough to allow people to pursue areas of expertise that interest them. But most of all, it’s about community safety.  

These are themes that run throughout Sue's journey. After three big career changes, this might be the last. Sue agrees.  

"I think this will be it for me," she says. "I think this will be my final iteration."