A bit of rain couldn’t dampen the mood for new students like Maxine Burrows at O-week. Photo: Keeli Dyson.
Thousands of students are starting their tertiary education journey in the Illawarra, with the University of Wollongong (UOW) attracting enrolments from across the region, state, country and the world.
Maxine Burrows made a sea change for her studies, taking a leap of faith and leaving her hometown of Broken Hill to pursue a degree in creative arts and communications.
And in just a few short weeks the new student has already experienced the whirlwind of weather Wollongong has to offer.
“It’s definitely been a change in scenery, it was definitely needed,” Maxine said.
“I’ve been in Broken Hill my entire life so it’s nice to move somewhere where you have the best of both worlds where you have the beach and the mountains, whereas in Broken Hill it’s like the desert and dry heat.
“The humidity it definitely going to take some getting used to but it’s been really lovely so far.”
She was introduced to the university through the Future Me program and applied for early entry “on a whim” but after she discovered that the music school she was hoping to attend in Sydney didn’t have adequate student support, UOW seemed to be the perfect fit.
“What drew me in about UOW was just the community,” Maxine said.
“It had a really good vibe, student support was really good. Even before I was a student they were very responsive and helpful navigating the application process and the accommodation application stuff and AskUOW was always super helpful as well.”
That support was even more important as she entered a new town knowing very few people, but Maxine is already settling in and pursuing her passions, talking to the UOW Theatre Collective and engaging with the local theatre scene before she even set foot in Wollongong.
“I’m already getting involved actually,” Maxine said. “I’m stage managing Plays by her Rules with Rising Arts Productions.
“I was still at home and I saw an ad on Facebook and I thought why not? I’ve made a few good connections so far, hopefully can make more.”
Maxine was one of the more than 3200 students who participated in orientation week activities to help prepare them ahead of their studies.
The most in-demand programs for 2026 are Nursing, Education, Engineering, Business, Health Sciences, Exercise Science and Communications and Media, with the largest cohort of domestic students coming from right here in the Illawarra.
But there has also been a significant boost from outside the area, with more than 600 commencing students like Maxine coming from regional NSW.
“Some people I know from Broken Hill didn’t even know where to start when applying for university so it’s really important to have these resources and programs like Future Me that flag you for early entry,” Maxine said.
“It’s very important to have resources and assistance for regionally-based students, just so it makes it that little bit easier, especially coming from so far away.”
And after a successful O-week, new students are ready to embrace the university life and the broader Illawarra community.
“We know that when students feel a strong sense of belonging from the beginning, it has a lasting impact on their success,” Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Helen Partridge said.
“It was a bit scary but sometimes you’ve just got to carpe diem that kind of thing. You don’t know what’s going to happen if you don’t take the chance,” Maxine said.
“I’m just really looking forward to getting stuck into the theatre part of it. Getting more involved with the community theatre here and starting my acting and production classes, those are really exciting.”
