Students in Focus
Redefining Potential: How Jess turned adversity into impact
Living with an undiagnosed disability takes its toll.
Jessica Preston was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia as an adult, but she had always lived with the symptoms – they just had different labels back then. A “lazy” student was a child who was easily distracted by changes in her environment. A “slow” reader had to work twice as hard as her peers to read the same page of a book, deciphering jumbles of letters and words that ran together.
“In school I would be genuinely struggling, and it was always phrased as ‘we know you have the ability to do this Jessica; you just need to try harder’,” she says.
Now, Jess is a Dean’s awardee, a keen student-journalist and qualified early childhood educator. Jess’s story shows that your early experiences don’t have to define your life, and that learning to advocate for yourself, while intimidating at first, will aways pay off.
Jess graduated Year 12 in 2020, amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and a year of remote learning. Following graduation, she studied early childhood education at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) and began working as an educator.
Later, she applied to study a Bachelor of Justice Studies at the University of Canberra, hoping to someday work in child protection.
Although she graduated high school without receiving an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), when Jess applied for university, she received recognition of prior learning (RPL) and credit for her experience and CIT certification. She began her studies in the mid-semester intake of 2022.
When I received the acceptance, I was very excited – the degree is within the School of Law, I was excited to make change
She also picked up journalism as an elective, which quickly sparked a new interest.
Although her passion was strong, Jess faced setbacks in her second semester. She struggled to financially support herself while studying, and health complications from a surgery were taking their toll. Jess withdrew from her units and deferred her studies. Her self-confidence took a hit, and she started doubting whether she had made the right decision in pursing higher education.
After a break, and by the time 2024 rolled around, Jess re-enrolled, her determination strengthened.
This time, she applied for a Reasonable Adjustments Plan (RAP) and began advocating to receive the adjustments she needed to manage her ADHD and dyslexia. Describing it as “a game changer”, Jess recommends that others who are eligible look into it from the beginning of their studies.
“It's only in the last couple of years that I've got myself set up with a RAP. The teachers are great, they're really supportive, and the Inclusion 91Ï㽶app team have been nothing but fantastic with me,” Jess says.
“It alleviates a lot of the stress that I was dealing with. It's so worth it. I would definitely encourage others to look into it.”
She also applied for, and was later awarded, the , designed to assist students with a disability as they navigate their studies
The Scholarship has been life-changing, it takes that pressure off. If I hadn't gotten it, I probably would have had to quit uni entirely.
“This semester, I'm going to use some of it to buy new glasses, which I’ve desperately needed and some other tech to help me study.”
Now, Jess is looking to the future – her innate passion for social justice has been enhanced with a firm understanding of Australia’s justice system, and the skills for negotiation and advocacy, developed throughout her Justice Studies course work.
That initial spark she felt in her early journalism unit has developed into a full-blown obsession; she’s added it as a breadth major and has been writing for , 91Ï㽶app’s student-run news outlet.
Jess can see a future for herself in journalism, utilising both streams of study to advocate for change.
“If I had one message to give to the world; it would be to lead with compassion,” Jess says.
I can still care about something if it doesn't directly affect me, because I'm a human.
“There’s a stigma around people who are on Centrelink or people who are homeless. There might be a perception that they’re not trying, but think about what they might have gone through, instead of treating them horribly, think about how with a little help, they will become a very productive member of society.”
Her other message, a little more targeted, is for others who have faced hardship or adversity, or self-doubt about who they are.
“Three years ago, I didn't know where I was going to be,” Jess says.
“I've been homeless before, I didn’t do well at school. Now, I'm at uni, I'm doing really well, and I'm hoping to make a real impact on the world.”
“I say, just go for it. I'm sure whoever's reading this, you will do great things. Keep going no matter what.”