Having seized the opportunity to further his career and prospects through study, maritime personnel sailor Petty Officer Nicholas Farallo is now an advocate for the scheme that enabled his studies.
Initially joining the Australian Army as a Clerk in 2012, Petty Officer Farallo decided after serving in HMAS Adelaide that life at sea was an exciting one, so he transferred to the Royal Australian Navy to travel and challenge himself in more varied locations.
Fast forward to today and Petty Officer Farallo is posted in HMAS Cerberus as Senior MPERS (Maritime Personnel) Instructor, Training Authority – Maritime Logistics and Health. He is also now studying a Bachelor of Business through the University of New England, supported by the Defence Assisted Study Scheme (DASS).
“While I had heard of DASS when I first joined, I only applied to start my studies in 2020 when, initially, DASS was covering around 75 per cent of my degree cost,” Petty Officer Farallo said.
“Now the DASS scheme has been extended to incorporate more courses and even more financial support.”
Petty Officer Farallo says the information available on the scheme is a lot more accessible and the application process is fairly easy, especially after going through it previously, but says applications need to submitted on time for each new semester.
When it comes to managing his study load, he finds pacing it out, one subject at a time, allows him to balance study with work commitments and lifestyle.
“The flexibility of being able to juggle the study load with my work, depending on my posting, takes a lot of the pressure off,” he said.
“If I am at sea, I can defer a semester or if I have more free time I can add an extra subject.”
This semester, Petty Officer Farallo is studying organisational leadership, which he says is perfect for his role as a senior sailor.
“I have already noticed a correlation in the essential readings on leadership styles and how they work, to how it even touches on the difference in generations and how they react to different work environments and leadership styles,” he said.
Petty Officer Farallo says he is a huge advocate for DASS and has already convinced two colleagues to study under the scheme.
“University is expensive so it is great that Defence offers this avenue to help pay for a degree and support us in gaining better qualifications,” he said.
“I could not more highly recommend this scheme, and I strongly recommend that those who are considering just get their application in.”
