New friends unite for CQUniversity’s Chancellor’s Cup

Studying via distance education can be isolating but for Naomi ‘Nomes’ Johnson, taking part in the Chancellor’s Cup sports with other students from all around Australia has resulted in making new friends.

Nareej Atwal and Naomi Johnson at the CQUniversity Chancellor's Cup in Rockhampton August 2019

SHE wore a South Australia jersey the day of the Chancellors Cup finals, but Naomi ‘Nomes’ Johnson was proudly representing CQUniversity Rockhampton.

The mixed team comprised of ‘extra’ players from the Rockhampton and New South Wales campuses gathered from all over Australia for the Cup’s 11th year.

They played against students from as far away as Melbourne and Geraldton WA.

For Ms Johnson, who is an external student, the Cup was her first time to catch up with other CQUniversity students who live right here in Rockhampton.

Ms Johnson’s mother was flown in to the Rockhampton birthing unit so she’s technically “from Rockhampton” but she lived out in Alpha until her teenage years.

Out of high school, she became a qualified baker and spent 16 years in the industry, but the desire for a different vocation haunted her.

“I was inspired by my Year 2-3 teacher; I wanted to do what she did,” Ms Johnson said.

“Finally, I got up the courage to do a STEPS course and enrol in a Bachelor of Primary Education.”

Now in her third year, it is the first time Ms Johnson opted to participate in the Chancellor’s Cup, which attracted about 120 students competing in 10 regional teams across basketball, soccer and touch games.

It is also the first year that Sydney-based Nareej Atwal, who is doing a Masters in Management for Engineers, got involved in the Cup and he regrets not doing so sooner.

He and Ms Johnson said they’d found kindred spirits in each other over the course of the Chancellor’s Cup events.

“You’ve got to see her on the basketball court,” he said.

“If the ball’s in her hands and she’s near the D, then she’s going to score.”