About Alumni
Get Involved
Alumni Benefits & Services
- > About the University
- > Research
- > Faculties
- > Library
- > IT Services
- > News
- > Events @ UOW
Melissa Simpson
Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (with Distinction) - 2004
By the time this edition of Campus News is distributed in mid-December, UOW graduate Melissa Simpson will be hard at work captaining the Australian indoor hockey team in an international tournament in Britain.
The pocket dynamo has represented Australia since 2004 and was Australia’s vice-captain at the 2007 Indoor Hockey World Cup in Vienna, but this month’s tournament is the first time that Melissa has captained her country.
“It’s very exciting to be captaining the team, and it was just too good an opportunity to pass up” Melissa told Campus News before she left for Britain. “We’ve got a young squad but hopefully we’ll go really well. Representing Australia at the World Cup in 2011 is definitely a goal of mine, and so this tournament is an important step towards that.”
Melissa started playing hockey when she was 12, and represented NSW in hockey and basketball as a junior. She eventually had to make a decision on which sport to concentrate on, and at just 152cm tall her lack of height convinced her that hockey was a better option.
At 18 Melissa was selected in the Australian junior squad for field hockey, and played four seasons with the NSW team in the National Hockey League from 2003-2007. She still plays field hockey at club level, and has played for the champion UOW team in the Illawarra competition for the past seven years.
“I found at representative level my strengths were better suited to indoor hockey, so I’ve concentrated on that over the last couple of years,” Melissa said. “It’s a smaller field and there are only five field players and a goalie in each team, so every player gets a lot more involved.”
When Melissa finished high school she was determined to make a career from her love of sport. She enrolled in Bachelor of Physical Education and Health degree at UOW, graduating in 2004.
“I loved my time at UOW. The staff were so knowledgeable, helpful and friendly, while the students doing PE were a very cohesive group that shared the same values. We were involved in a lot of group assignments, and I’ve kept up some strong personal networks beyond uni.”
Since 2005 Melissa has been a PE teacher at Keira High School in Wollongong, and next year will take over as Year 7 Year Advisor.
“I really enjoy teaching and I love the school and the staff, and I have been lucky to be at a school that has been so supportive of my hockey commitments” Melissa said. “I really like working with the kids, and helping them develop healthy lifestyles and healthy behaviour by trying to create a positive, fun environment in my classes.”
Melissa will rush back from the tournament to marry fellow UOW graduate, environmental engineer Nathan Eastwood early in January.
Not surprisingly, Nathan is also a keen sportsman and plays for UOW’s first grade hockey and cricket teams. “Nathan and I train a lot together, and it really helps as we like to competitive against each other,” Melissa said.
This year the couple celebrated dual hockey premierships, with the men’s team breaking through for UOW’s inaugural first grade premiership with a 1-0 win over Albion Park in the grand final. Melissa scored a goal in the women’s team’s 2-1 grand final win over Avondale to continue the team’s dominance in recent years.
University teams also won both the men’s and women’s premierships in second grade.