Jacqui – a lesson in the power of passion and persistence

G’day. Just how many of us, at some stage in our careers, have had to go through a side door or even back door to achieve our dreams? And how much sweeter it is when the battle has been so hard won?

Easy front door entry into careers with high marks or knowing the right people are what we might want but set-backs are important stepping stones to build resilience. Often, when we just miss out, we don’t have to change our goal; we can just do a side door entry by taking a lower ranked job and working up, or going to a different university or taking a slightly different course and after a year get credit into the preferred course – there are so many roads to Rome, as they say.

But have you ever had both front and side door slammed in your face, and how did you cope with that rejection? Some will just shrug and adjust their goals, others might bide their time and get mature age entry later on, many give up but I’d like to share the story of one such reject who didn’t let slamming doors rain on her parade!  

Eight year old Jacqui was brought in to see me for an educational assessment by her very caring, very well educated but very concerned mum and dad.  Their concerns were well based. Jacqui was really struggling at school, was way behind in reading and writing and she felt the pain of classmates’ putdowns for being dumb! To make matters worse, Jacqui’s big brothers and sisters were all high achievers.

Jacqui said she wanted to be a doctor like her parents but the results of my assessment said that would not happen; Jacqui was just on 2 years behind in reading and her IQ was in the low average range. It was quite a somber meeting with her parents and I recall their eyes were glistening as they thought of the battles ahead for their youngest.

But measures of educational potential don’t measure passion and determination, do they! Despite career advisor suggestion for Jacqui to leave and do Child Care, Jacqui ploughed on, finished her HSC and scooped the pool, not academically but for effort, persistence, improvement and contribution to the school and community. Then Jacqui scraped into nursing, then scraped into midwifery and after several successful years as a midwife, decided she could do medicine. So, with some credits from midwifery, Jacqui scraped into medicine with outsiders, like me, very fearful that she would find it all too hard, especially as she was now a mum and wife.

Very recently Jacqui graduated in medicine and is awaiting a posting to a regional hospital. Jacqui’s grit, determination, persistence and passion allowed her to not just punch above her weight, but burst through that back door into the profession she chose so many years ago. How does the saying go “a positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible!”

Jacqui, we salute you!