Ben Ball
Bachelor of Nursing Bachelor of Arts in International Studies
Ben tells why he chose to study nursing and the combined Bachelor of Nursing, Bachelor of Arts in International Studies Degree at UTS. "After leafing through an article in an old National Geographic magazine about sea kayaking in Chilean Patagonia, I went into town to have a blood test and health check for my 12 month student visa. Chatting with the pathologist, a lovely Philippino man named Victor, I discovered that he too was a nursing student, among other things, and began talking about what lead each of us to study nursing, and what we planned and dreamed of doing with our qualifications. Victor had come to Australia after spending several years in the navy as a 'medico', a qualification he had gained after 6 months of intensive study and field work. We shook hands and wished each other the best for the future, and as I walked home I was happily reminded, as I am so often, of why I had chosen to study nursing and international studies at the UTS. When I entered my first year of nursing, straight after high school, I had little preconception of what to expect, or indeed of the practicalities of nursing as a profession. I did however, have a love for people, a thirst for adventure and learning, and an eye focused on the many opportunities that my two degrees would open for me. After three years of study I gained an insight into the many fields of nursing and learnt a great deal, especially through the many hours of clinical exposure that I have had. I have also gained a strong grasp on the Spanish language - a challenge that I have thoroughly enjoyed and find enormously satisfying. An interest in politics, both local and international, history, culture, social change and development, Latin American literature, and other unexpected worlds have all blossomed in my life since beginning this amazing double degree. Llegare a Concepcion el febrero proximo, una ciudad pequeno en el sur de Chile, donde pasare un ano estudiando, viajando y otras cosas que me gusta hacer tan mucho... returned from Concepcion, a small city in the south of Chile, where I spent a year studying, travelling and other things that I really enjoyed. I don't know where my degrees will take me and I find this exciting, partly because I know how inspiring the many possible paths ahead may be. Life continues to surprise me, and in many ways this is what I like most about my course. There are so many opportunities, both within and beyond nursing, within Australia and abroad, that I cannot possibly know in which direction(s) I will choose to go. Rural work with the flying doctors, working and furthering my studies overseas, doing aid work, or perhaps something entirely different' these are some of the ideas I have right now, amongst others."
