Navy People: Aiming High
8 December 2010
In January Wahroonga’s Mark Lawley said goodbye to his parents, Mary and Peter, and headed off for the next stage of his life’s adventure.
Mark, 19, graduated as a Navy Midshipman last year and has already taken part in a maritime exercise off the Queensland coast when he was aboard HMAS Manoora. Now he is undertaking military training and getting his engineering degree through the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra.
ADFA works in partnership with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to ensure its midshipmen and officer cadets receive the best possible degrees. ADFA provides the military training and the university provides the academic education.
UNSW@ADFA is located at ADFA, so Mark is within walking distance of the university. UNSW@ADFA has the best student to lecturer ratio in the country so Mark is already on track for a world-class degree. After lectures, he often has military training or extra curricular activities scheduled, but there is also plenty of time during the week and on weekends for him to study, or to catch up with his mates.
“I started looking for a career during Year 10 at Knox Grammar. I had been in the Army cadets and was the orienteering team captain, so I realised I was suited to the military environment,” said Mark.
“My grandfather had been in the Navy as an engineer and as a boy, I’d listened to all his sea stories. Both my parents are also engineers – and now I am a junior Navy officer doing an electrical engineering degree. It must be in the blood.
“At ADFA, we’re divided into groups of 40 and we share a block of flats. We each have our own bedroom plus a common room. But communal living is not new — it started when I joined the Navy. It was a culture shock to start with, but it’s very sociable.
“This year, I’m studying maths, physics, computer science and electrical engineering. It’s a four-year degree and the deal is that I serve in the Navy for the same time as my degree, plus one year. With the year that I have already served, that means I have another four years to go after I graduate.
“I like the idea of staying on after my four years are up but it’s too soon to make a long-term decision.
“Right now I’m just looking forward to getting through the second semester and having a break over Christmas, ” Mark said.
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