Humans of RMIT: Coco Cover
Coco Cover, Associate at The Supreme Court of Victoria and RMIT Alumnus
We all take different paths in life and our learning experiences are no different.
Meet Coco, a regular high-school graduate who travelled down three different pathways to reach her career goal and current role as an Associate at The Supreme Court of Victoria. This is her story.
While sitting through some uninspiring subjects during high school and pushing herself to get good grades, Coco always thought she knew where she wanted to end up.
“Throughout high school my goal was to become a police officer. I knew that the police force liked candidates to have life experience therefore, I intended on going to University after Year 12.
At the [RMIT] open day the Advanced Diploma of Justice crew had set up a ‘mock crime scene’ which drew my attention.
It suited me more with the practical and fun aspects plus the thought of sitting in a lecture theatre with thousands of new people and the anxiety of being singled out and asked a question daunted me.
The Program Director also spoke of the ability to undergo a placement and how in touch RMIT was with industry and how that is great for setting me up for a job in the future so this also played a huge part. RMIT also seemed very modern in terms of their different buildings scattered around the city and the technology.
Being a 17-18 year old, I was also slightly worried about what people at school would think about had I not enrolled into a higher degree such as a Bachelor however, in the end I had to choose what suited me best, plus, and this was also something I discussed and that appealed to me at the open day, the fact that I could easily move on from it.”
For Coco, her journey after completing the Diploma, led her to a Bachelor of Arts (Criminal Justice Administration) (BACJA) and Juris Doctor (JD) at RMIT.
While the thought of changing degrees multiple times may be daunting for some, Coco believes that there is no substitute to the networks and knowledge that come from experiencing multiple education pathways.
“You may think ‘oh I really want to be a lawyer but X amount of years seems so long’ but when you reflect back on it at the end, you will be thinking ‘oh it feels like yesterday that I took my first class at RMIT’.”
Coco says she would be interested in continuing her studies and completing a Masters degree in Criminology or even maybe studying Psychology one day.
“I think if I went back to studying I would choose RMIT again given the success I have had in the past with the Uni and also knowing how to use their technologies and where the buildings are is less daunting. Their connections to industry and more practical approach also appeal to me over other institutions.
I am also open to the idea of short courses ran through RMIT and have even taken a Japanese Language course in the past through RMIT, I think a lot of people forget about short courses and how they can build upon knowledge that you already possess or can be included as a hobby.”
What do you think the future of RMIT’s pathways could be? Share your story or feedback at rmitnext@rmit.edu.au.
