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“I felt really supported and engaged within an academic community.” Keith Govias

It was a busy time in Keith Govias’s life; he and his wife had a new baby, they’d just bought a new house and he was starting a new job. But all these commitments didn’t stop him from adding study to his schedule and managing it successfully. The “supportive environment and quality education offered in a flexible way” through OUA made it possible to balance family, work and study. Govias, who was then Workplace Health and Safety Manager with a leading retailer, chose to add to his qualifications with a Master of Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Management with the Australian Catholic University, through OUA. By studying online, Govias says he could “load up coursework and study at night or on weekends while contributing to the family as well. My wife has been really supportive of my educational endeavours and when she went back to full-time work, too, I knew I could ensure there was a balance in our household,” he says. Late last year, Govias was headhunted for his current role: Principal Consultant of Workplace Risk at Gallagher, a global insurance brokerage in Melbourne. “The experience of building that master’s degree gave me a real opportunity to flourish,” says Govias, who has been part of numerous working groups, regulator panels and reference groups. “I have been chosen to help build public policy and safety regulator policy specifically applicable to retail. The quality of my master’s prepared me for that.”