We Are UOW: Recent Episodes
University of Wollongong
We are UOW explores the connections made on the University of Wollongong campus, from friends, to mentors to marriages.
In 1977, Patricia Davidson had left ANU in her hometown of Canberra to pursue nursing at Wollongong Hospital. On her first day in training, she met Irish ex-pat John Daly, one of only two men in the class. Over forty years of friendship, they've championed each other through nursing, studying, and revolutionising nursing in universities.
Jennifer Macey is an award-winning journalist and podcast producer, but maybe her most nerve wracking gig was standing in front of a lecture to teach. In her first class teaching, she met Lizzie Jack. Over four years, the pair have gone from teacher-and-student, to boss-and-employee, to actual friends.
Ash and Grant met as teenagers working casually at Jamberoo Action Park on the south coast. When Grant saw how much fun his mates were having studying PE at UOW, he decided to enrol, and convinced Ash to come study teaching. After 17 years together, the pair share a fun-loving marriage, two kids and a successful childcare business.
If Emily and Clayton McDowell's lives were a movie, UOW Innovation Campus would be the set. They both had their own milestones based around the campus, from moving out of home, doing PhD's, meeting each other, to their eventual wedding day.
[WARNING: MILD COARSE LANGUAGE]
High school mates Tom Simnadis, Dean Martelozzo and Jared Smith had different interests that led them all to double degrees and majors at the University of Wollongong.
They realise with Tom's grain research, Dean's business skills and Jared's mechanical and chemical knowledge, there's only one thing to do: start a distillery.
Barron Hanson and Michael 'Apples' Appleford met as teenagers playing in the same AFL team, but lost touch as they grew up. A chance encounter at the University of Wollongong shaped these childhood acquaintances into best mates who've been by each other's side from New Zealand to New York.
[WARNING: MILD COARSE LANGUAGE]Adam Smith and Balunn Jones met as kids living in the same street. They spent their teens surfing, skating and playing music in Balunn's basement, before enrolling at UOW together. When their favourite Wollongong venue closed down, Adam, Bal and their mate Ben took matters into their own hands to create Yours and Owls.
Jaymee and Mick have led very different career paths, but similar circumstances led them to enrolling at the University of Wollongong to change their own narrative.
Nik Preiner and Nathan Hancock grew up in Canberra, but didn't meet until they moved to Wollongong and into the same student accommodation. Now they run a successful financial business, and have been side-by-side since meeting at O-Week fifteen years ago.
Pauline, Melissa and Maddie Lysaght share their connection to each other and the University of Wollongong, with personal experiences that span almost fifty years from UOW's inception, to starting uni during a pandemic.
Join Lizzie Jack as she explores the lifelong connections of UOW alumni with those they attended the University of Wollongong. From mentors, love, friendship and career success - you will be taken on a journey to find out how a single decision to attend university, can change your life forever.