FEW VCE students look forward to the school year as much as Wyndham resident Patrick Hamer, a student at Victoria University in Footscray.

Mr Hamer, 19, dropped out of school in Year 8 and spent about two years living on the street before he decided to re-enter the education system in 2004.

Mr Hamer said he did not feel comfortable going back to his former college to complete his studies and instead chose Victoria University.

He had stopped studying when his father moved out of home and his family ended up in financial difficulty.

His worries increased when a close friend died and a number of other traumatic events erupted in his life.

“My behaviour went south after that. I went ballistic,” he said.

Mr Hamer was studying on a scholarship at Westbourne Grammar, Hoppers Crossing, at the time of his parents’ break-up but was asked to leave because of his unruly behaviour.

He performed odd jobs and labouring after dropping out of school.

“Then I decided that I wasn’t really using my brains digging holes and decided to try my potential,” he said.

“During that time I was homeless, living on the streets, sleeping on park benches.

“I was very difficult to live with and (had) left home.”

But Mr Hamer returned home after he decided to turn his life around.

Michelle O’Brien, the university’s youth transition unit manager, said Mr Hamer came to her wanting to undertake a college bridging course, with the aim of re-entering the education system.

She suggested that Mr Hamer continue his education through the university, which allowed students more freedom with how they approached their studies.

She also nominated him for a Western Chances scholarship, which he received last year.

“Western Chances like to give practical things rather than money,” she said.

“He received a new computer and they paid for him to receive internet access.

“These things have helped him but the scholarship was more important in terms of motivation.

“It made him feel valued and recognised that he had talent.”

Mr Hamer said he appreciated the scholarship, as it helped him with his studies.

“On the psychology side of things, I was thinking of myself as a bum. I’d been living on the streets a couple of years and thinking: ‘What’s the point of trying?’

“But because of the scholarship, I thought: ‘If people had faith in me, I’ll really give it my best.’ It gave me the confidence to get back into it.”

Mr Hamer is determined to complete his VCE with high-enough marks to study psychology at Melbourne University.

Applications for Western Chances scholarships are available from westernchances.org.au .