Mitchell Fern, a Wollongong local and recent graduate, has been awarded the highest achieving student from the First Nations Community at Swinburne University’s School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship awards.
He recently completed a Bachelor of Business Management, majoring in Sports Management, through Swinburne’s online course, which is delivered by OES. The award is a testament to Mitchell’s dedication, hard work, and academic excellence throughout his studies, and he says it has huge significance to him.
“It means a great deal. I’m proud to know that I was the highest achieving, but more importantly, I’m proud of what the award represents in terms of Indigenous recognition,” he says.
“It shows that someone is actively considering and supporting First Nations students.”
Mitchell chose to study business because of his long-standing fascination with the logistics side of how organisations run. He wanted to complement this by including his biggest passion, which is sport.
“It’s a niche field, so I wanted a degree that would give me a strong fallback in business, but with that sport focus mixed in,” he says.
“I’ve enjoyed the whole degree; I don’t think I’ve found a sport that I couldn’t watch or enjoy!”
The Wollongong local was originally studying on campus and deferred when COVID lockdowns came into effect in 2020. When he was ready to go back, he was working full-time and didn’t want to sacrifice his financial stability.
His mum completed her teaching degree online and was encouraged to consider the same. He says that knowing that she was able to achieve a great result through online study was a big motivator.
“Studying online meant I could keep working, and the flexibility to study at your own pace is incredible. You can plan your week and know what you need to achieve by the end of it,” he says.
“It is a different experience (to studying on campus), but I never felt a lack of support. There was always someone to email. My ELA (Educational Learning Advisor) was my direct contact, and help was never out of reach.”
He is not sure exactly where his degree will take him, but there are lots of exciting opportunities to consider.
“Ultimately, I would love to work within a large-scale sporting organisation. An ideal role would be in marketing, and one day, I’d like to be a director of a club – like a Director of Football at an AFL club or similar,” he says.
“I’m currently working full-time at a primary school in student support, and I find the work incredibly rewarding.
“While I’m eager to make use of my degree, I’ve built such strong relationships with the kids that I don’t want to do them a disservice by leaving before the time is right. My online degree has given me the flexibility to build these life experiences while working towards my goal.”
Swinburne Online’s Academic Director, Samar Zutshi says Mitchell’s are achievements are an example of how the flexibility of online study enables students to study without giving up what is important to them.
“Congratulations to Mitchell on this award, which is incredibly well deserved,” he said. “We know that our students have rich lives that they are adding to through their study, and it is fantastic to see how Mitchell has been able to reach his academic goals whilst also maintaining the financial stability he worked so hard to achieve.”
Congratulations, Mitchell, on this fantastic and well-deserved achievement. Your dedication is an inspiration, and we cannot wait to see where your career takes you.
Publish date: 22 Oct 2025
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