It's been 14 years since Luba Makarov's first baby was stillborn. She still remembers the difference a good nurse makes.
"I had a really wonderful nurse-midwife and a really horrible one, and the contrast was amazing," Ms Makarov said.
"I was really inspired by the midwife who was a mental health nurse and she knew exactly how to do trauma-informed care, I just didn't know what that was at the time," she said.
She is one of 180 postgraduate students who graduated from the University of Newcastle's trimester ceremony on Wednesday, September 23.
After starting out as an enrolled nurse, Ms Makarov did a bachelor's degree and had just completed her master's in mental health nursing.
Her experience 14 years ago pushed her to go into nursing with a goal of eventually working as a midwife in bereavement care.
"I felt mental health nursing was very relevant to my future goals," she said.
"I thought it would be great to work with women and families and know more about mental health - it solidified my passion."
She said she liked mental health nursing because she was able to dig deep and help people in the long term.
"It's been incredible, very rewarding," she said.
Ms Makarov studied online while juggling her nursing job at Queensland Children's Hospital and raising her three children as a single mother.
"I was doing presentations on my lunch break," she said.
She said she was able to complete her degree with the help of the university's Shaping Futures Scholarship Program.
"It helped me cover childcare costs which is a huge deal as a single mum," she said.
"We [Ms Makarov and children] did homework together, they better know the cardiac system now."
The Shaping Futures Scholarship supports students facing financial hardship and disadvantage, helping them cover essential costs such as accommodation, food, transport and study resources.
"I'm the first in my family to graduate university, my mind waiting until after the ceremony to really click that it's happened," she said.
Looking ahead, Ms Makarov said she was applying for a clinical nursing job and was hoping to get into a midwifery program.
University of Newcastle vice-chancellor Alex Zelinsky said the mid-year ceremony allowed for students who needed to return home before the December graduation to celebrate.
"We wanted to give them the opportunity to have that special moment where they can cross the stage and celebrate years of hard work and dedication," Professor Zelinsky said.
