鈥淚 had the full Yarra experience that I am very thankful for鈥�
During his school years, Ryan Buhagiar wasn鈥檛 always comfortable with change. But throughout his life, change has been a constant.
Most recently, he made the decision to switch from a career as an engineer and project manager to study medicine.
鈥淚n my previous job I worked for a water utility as a project manager. I realised I had three or four decades of work left and I didn鈥檛 want to do the same thing for the rest of my life. I鈥檇 changed as a person,鈥� he says.
鈥淢aking big changes have been difficult and challenging but they鈥檝e also been some of the best things to happen to me.鈥�
Ryan spent his entire school years at Yarra and during those years he grew in confidence due to the opportunities presented to him by the school.
鈥淚 vividly remember going on camp and doing white water rafting. It was physically hard but I knew that we were lucky to be able to do activities like that,鈥� he says.
He also discovered untapped skills, such as a love of playing cricket and soccer, and a strength in academic subjects including mathematics and physics.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 interested in sport in primary school but during senior school I played soccer and cricket and while I wasn鈥檛 particularly good, that wasn鈥檛 the point. We were able to hang out with our mates on a Saturday morning and work as a team,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 was decent at running but didn鈥檛 realise it. I remember during halftime in one game our coach, Mr Manning, told the team to give the ball to me so I could run it down the wing. I did that and we ended up winning and, for the first time, I realised I had some value in the team.鈥�
After graduating, Ryan studied engineering and business at RMIT. He then spent two years project managing major construction projects on Hamilton Island.
鈥淚t was another change. I had to move away from Melbourne, make new friends and networks and perform in a new environment. It built more skills,鈥� he says.
Now, Ryan has adjusted to the lifechanging switch from an engineering pathway to a future career in medicine. He鈥檚 just completed his first year at Deakin University.
鈥淚 just felt that perhaps I ended up in engineering because I hadn鈥檛 gone through a proper decision-making process early on. My parents and partner have been encouraging and supported my decision and I鈥檓 privileged to be able to go back and study at this time in my life. I鈥檓 very proud of getting into graduate medicine.鈥�
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