The year was 2009 when the 16-year-old overcame difficulties and set off on a world journey to sail the rough seas all on her own-- a dream she’d had since the age of 12.
Five years later, Jessica Watson, now 21, still seems to be dreaming of her adventures instead of keeping her head in the books.
Ms Watson, who was named Young Australian of the Year in 2011, has been studying sociology at university and has recorded the “normal” school life she’s having on social media.
“Enjoying my first week studying on campus, pretty sure no one has recognized me,” she tweeted with a photo of her uni books.
The teen adventurer from the Gold Coast, Queensland, made headlines when she sailed the world’s most challenging seaways for seven months in 2009, including Cape Horn and the Southern Ocean. She sailed back in to Sydney Harbour in May 2010 just before her 17th birthday.
Her university degree seems rather incomparable after surviving storms, loneliness and several knockdowns in her Ella’s Pink Lady yacht.
Ms Watson, who was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia two years ago following her sailing feat, posted on her blog in 2012 that she was taking up a youth and social work course at university but it’s believed she was studying online up until now.
“The big thing I took away from (the sailing) was that I love sailing and I love what I am doing now,” she wrote. “But I also realized that I love working with schools and working with different organizations. That’s why I am doing a university course with youth work/social work areas in mind.”
Ms Watson continued to add to her list of sailing honor following the around the world trip when she joined a young crew of nine in the 2011 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. They were the youngest sailors to complete the blue water classic.
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