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People sometimes change degrees on their way to graduation success, but it was a unique reason that propelled QUT student Ambrose Bub to switch to economics after a year studying hands-on engineering and science.
The onset of a rare, inherited eye condition challenged him to find new ways to study and next month he will graduate as one of the top students in his business class at the mid-year QUT graduation ceremonies.
Like three of his brothers before him, Ambrose was diagnosed with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy – a genetic disorder that can cause sudden and irreversible blindness.
In October 2019, as he prepared to sit his first-year engineering exams, he began to lose his vision. By June 2020, he was diagnosed as legally blind.
“I felt despondent, unequipped and fearful for the unknown journey ahead. I failed both the exams and decided to take a leave of absence from my studies at QUT until I was aware of how severe the decline in my health would be,” he said.
Pointing to a strong support network which helped him through this difficult time, Ambrose was able to return to his studies, switching to a Bachelor of Business (Economics).
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“I was able to find an audio screen reading software teacher who taught me how to use Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) and Job Access With Speech (JAWS) software programs which were both designed to help people with vision impairments to operate computers,” he said.
“This was a difficult process because it meant switching from looking at a screen to listening to a robot voice read the content of a screen. I had to learn how to retain the content of the words read aloud. I had to listen, remember and then analyse information I had heard through the software to return to studying.”
With the help of QUT Disability Adviser Guy Roberts, Ambrose was also able to learn about the visually demanding aspects of his new units and adjust assessments accordingly.
But it was through his own hard work and dedication that he made the Dean’s List six times and received a Certificate of Achievement for the highest result in EFB229 Macroeconomics last year.
“Looking back, those early weeks of my diagnosis were the most difficult weeks of my life, and I didn't know what to expect moving forward,” Ambrose said.
Originally compelled to study physics and mechatronics because of a deep interest in “understanding how things worked and examining the big picture”, Ambrose had to reevaluate his own path.
“I needed to learn how to eat food I couldn't see, talk to people I couldn't see, walk in directions I wasn't sure about and understand how I would be living this way as a new normal,” he said.
“This life adjustment was such a mountain that I wanted to climb before attempting to return to studying.”
Now, about to graduate, Ambrose has been offered a scholarship to study a Master of Economics and Data Science at the University of Canberra.
In addition to his studies, he was also employed as a QUT Student Learning Adviser in the Faculty of Business and Law and a Student Ambassador in QUT Student Recruitment.
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Still ever humble, Ambrose says it is the people who helped him along the way that he is most grateful for.
“Everyone in my personal, family and student life have given me so much and helped me come to where I am today,” he said.
“I never thought I could return to studying at university after losing eyesight, but my time at QUT has prepared me for the real world ahead.”
QUT Disability and Accessibility Services is part of QUT Student Services. If you have a disability, injury or health condition, Disability and Accessibility Services may be of assistance and can provide you with information and services as you participate in your studies.
Media contact:
Lauren Baxter, 07 3138 3984, lauren.baxter@qut.edu.au
After hours: 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au