Lawrey Goodrick
CQU's Psychological Science degree has provided me with wit, wisdom and credibility supporting my pursuit as a highly imaginative and unique children’s book author. My writing explores the biopsychosocial aspects of many issues, all in a unique lens of outrageous fun and adventure. Since graduation, my goal to improve the wellbeing of those around me, promote change and continue to improve understanding of the neurotypical versus neurodiverse world design has flourished.
In 2026, I released my illustrated STEM-infused middle-grade fiction book Halflife: The AA Battery Adventure through Hawkeye Publishing, Brisbane. The themes of Half-life involve the importance of STEM and psychology in understanding life and identity, achieved through the emotionally resonant adventures of AA batteries. There is an endeavour for Half-life to be included in the school curriculum to promote the Arts and Sciences, Half-life receiving multiple award credits, including a 5-star Readers’ Favourite review 2025 (USA), Get Your Arts In Gear Best Literature Award 2025 (AU), as well as a short-list in the 2025 Gertrude Warner Awards (USA) to aid this objective.
CQU's guidance has strengthened my ambitions through their education values. Future study at CQU will involve attaining Psych Science Honours, pursuing interests in neuroscience, as well as tackling other branches of science, including quantum physics and quantum mechanics.
There were three reasons I pursued Psychological Science:
1) I wanted a deeper understanding of myself as well as the complexity that is to be human
2) I wanted a deeper understanding of psychological avenues to curate depth in themes within my writing that deliver authentic reflections of mental wellbeing and
3) I wanted to understand the complex psychology of children in foster care to improve their outcomes in life.
CQU's Psychological Science degree has advanced my skill and knowledge in research accuracy, built a strong foundation of ethics, guided and provided me with credibility when designing informative educational material with a witty creative twist, encouraged my pursuit in the sciences, provided me with confidence in advancing to the avenues of future study, and provided me with fruitful possibilities in my creative endeavours.
Despite the difficulties of navigating the tough terrains of absorbing psychological science information, I found the scope of studying vital for learning how to reconstruct lengthy textbook facts into simplified but entertaining, informative, satirical illustrated cartoons. This method I utilised when illustrating my book Half-life to help deliver complex information to the eager minds of the future.
