After a long-term neck injury became unmanageable, Mel B. from Victoria saw her 30 years in the fashion industry come to an end.

But ‘giving up’ doesn’t appear to be in Mel’s vocabulary.

She’s shown amazing resilience, enrolled in SIT30122 Certificate III in Tourism at Duke Education and is eager to get back into work.  

Mel’s Health Battles

Mel has dealt with chronic pain for over 30 years – the same amount of time she spent in the fashion industry.

“At 19, I had a bad car accident. I’ve gone through many operations since then and, recently, my fusions wore out.”

“Sadly, it’s prevented me from doing a lot of the things required in fashion. So I had to make a switch.”

Mel’s clearly been through a lot. But that hasn’t stopped her from taking her career into her own hands and giving it a red-hot go.

“I looked at my age and thought, ‘What’s something that won’t affect my injury and something I’m interested in?’” 

With her flair and experience in customer service and love for travel, studying tourism was an easy decision for Mel to make.

Why Mel is Enjoying Studying at Duke

It’s been a change for Mel, who’s used to working in a different industry. But the flexibility is something that’s invaluable, she says.

“I’d had a fairly overwhelming year with my own health and caring for my mother.” 

“This is something I can do on my phone, and at my own pace. It’s really achievable.”

She also feels she has enough support behind her from the team at Duke.

“It’s really supportive in terms of hints and knowledge.” 

What’s Next for Mel?

With Mel’s drive and resilience, we know she can do anything she puts her mind to.

For now, though, her focus is on getting through the course and taking things from there.

We couldn’t be prouder of Mel and the journey she’s taken to get here. Keep kicking goals!