While Lincoln James loves his current role as a learning designer for Deakin University, there was a time when he was less sure of what lay ahead.
‘I came to university when I was 22,’ he said, ‘And at the time I was working at a hotel. While it was a great chance to meet new people and skills, when I looked at my supervisors and managers I realised I didn’t want to become them. University seemed to be the best way to forge my own path forwards. But I had no idea what I wanted to do or be in 2011.’
A double degree seemed like the best option, in its offering of two different worlds and opportunities. Lincoln chose to study the Bachelor of Arts/Commerce degree at Deakin; a decision he describes as ‘less strategic’ and more ‘motivated by his curiosity and interests.’
‘I’d encourage other students to take a similar approach – studying units I was interested in made them less of a chore. (And Arts/Commerce) seemed like a great mixture of ‘blue sky’ and ‘practical’ topics, a really great way to expose myself to different ways of thinking. Surely two degrees were better than one when it came to figuring out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.’
In the Arts component of his double degree, Lincoln chose majors that were both interesting to him personally and relevant – and, to a certain degree, complementary to one another.
‘I gravitated towards media and communications (as a major) because of how much I was using social media. It was both for fun and for information, to understand how pervasive media is in our lives. My other major, marketing, seemed like the commercial extension (of this knowledge). I chose Chinese as my minor for more personal reasons: it would allow me study abroad, to learn more about my own Chinese heritage, and because I’ve always been fascinated in China and the role it clearly plays in Australia’s history.’
‘In fact, I ended up enjoying my minor so much that I actually ended up taking a Diploma of Language (Chinese) so I could continue my studies!’
One of the benefits of studying a double degree Lincoln discovered was that ideas from the two streams cross-pollinated one another, allowing him to develop a unique perspective and pool of knowledge.
It’s hard to talk about Arts as separate from what I learnt from Commerce; for me, everything was intertwined. For example, one of my most challenging and interesting trimesters was when I was studying economics (in Commerce) and a unit critical of globalisation. I would go from my economics seminar that was very, ‘yay globalisation!’, to my media unit which would unpack the downsides of globalisation.
Trying to reconcile these two views was headache-inducing at times, but it really helped me to develop a more nuanced perspective of globalisation. More importantly, it helped me understand how important it is to expose myself to multiple evidenced and thoughtful perspectives as possible. Truth is rarely unitary.’
In particular, he credits Arts as granting him two critical abilities: the ability to view the world more critically, and the ability to stay open to new ideas and knowledge.
‘Arts helped me step back and look at the bigger picture: why is this politician or leader telling me this? What is the context of what they’re saying? What are the broader ramifications? And also – what are they not saying, and what the implications of what’s left out?
‘More importantly, my Arts degree helped me learn how to learn, and to not be scared of unfamiliar ideas. My undergraduate was really about priming me to learn, to hone my curiosity and make sense of the world, so I could keep learning well after I’d completed my undergraduate.’
Moving from educated to educator
As the above quote might suggest, Lincoln’s time with higher education – and with Deakin – was far from over. A stint working as an Arts mentor at Deakin helped Lincoln identify what he’d first come to Deakin for in the first place: his path.
‘I discovered that my passion lay in education. Looking back it seems quite obvious: the best part of my day when I was working at the hotel was being asked to train up new staff. Then, when I was trying to figure out where to take my honours thesis (on marketing, as per his Arts majors), one of my marketing supervisors suggested I combine marketing with education.
‘I knew almost immediately this was the right fit for me. I realised how much I’d enjoyed my time at university, how empowering it had been, and how much I’d enjoy the opportunity to build those experiences for other students’
Where Arts had equipped Lincoln with new ideas and knowledge, Education, he says, gave him the opportunity to see new concepts ‘through his students’ eyes’.
‘Working with them reminded me of the importance of compassion. My experience of life and university was different to theirs, and I was reminded that it’s important teachers are not making assumptions about what their students know or have going on in their lives.’
A long list of career highlights
Currently, Lincoln juggles his role at Deakin with a part-time PhD (as he suspected he might). An ordinary week sees him moving between designing projects and workshops for the Faculty of Business and Law, teaching a professional insight seminar (which he also designed), and studying for his PhD on course design and employability.
‘Part of the reason I’ve chosen to do my PhD online while continuing to work in education is because it allows me to mix practical experience with the theoretical – a core value of mine.’
His current role is just the latest in a long history of successes, many of which can be tied back to Lincoln’s open-minded approach to university, and willingness to make the most out of his time with Deakin.
‘A consistent theme in my career (in the past) has been pursuing things that seem interesting or exciting: studying abroad, pursuing an internship, student mentoring. It was one thing to learn Chinese in the classroom; another to see China first-hand. Being a Writing Mentor team leader and my marketing internship was a great way to practice what I’d learnt in my studies. And as my honours year was winding up, I was offered a research assistant role with the Bachelor of Commerce director, who wanted me to apply some of my research to the Commerce degree itself.’
But while he’s a far cry from the original themes of his double degree, Lincoln argues that they’ve benefited him in more ways than (immediately) meets the eye.
‘I’d challenge the idea that an Arts degree isn’t what you do if you want to be employable. For example, let’s think about writing an essay. You’re required to research, source information, and assess its authority and relevance to your topic. As you read through your collected information you need to synthesise, develop arguments and check for inconsistencies; then as you begin writing, you need to construct arguments, be sensitive to your audience, and think about the style of your writing. There’s more to writing an essay than just writing it.
(And in Arts), there’s a lot of skills that you’re going to be using – not only in your future professional life, but also in your personal life, and as a future citizen.’
Discover who you could become with a single Arts or double degree. Go to deakin.edu.au/arts