How STEPS took Antoinette from the salon to psychology
For most of her life, Antoinette Netto believed university wasn't for people like her.
After leaving school at 14, building a career in hairdressing and spending years putting her dream of studying psychology on hold, she enrolled in CQUniversity's Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS) program at age 32. Today, she is a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) graduate with a perfect GPA, a role in psychological research and ambitions for a PhD.
"I had always wanted to do psychology, as far back as 17 or 18," Antoinette said.
"I left school at 14, so I had no formal education. I thought university was for 'other people', not people like me. I didn't know anyone who went to uni."
Born in Adelaide and raised in Ireland by her single mother, Antoinette returned to Australia as a teenager in search of new opportunities. Although psychology remained a lifelong interest, self-doubt prevented her from pursuing higher education.
Looking back, she says returning to study was about more than earning a degree.
"Part of me was trying to heal the little girl who thought she wasn't good or smart enough," she said.
After some reflection on the direction she wanted her life to take, Antoinette enrolled in STEPS at CQUniversity Cairns.
"It was the best decision I have ever made," she said.
Learning how to learn
For Antoinette, STEPS provided more than just a pathway into higher education. It gave her the confidence and skills to believe she belonged at university.
"STEPS was absolutely the only reason I was able to face the fear of starting uni," she said.
"It helps ease you into it without fear, but most importantly, it teaches you how to learn.
"For me, it was all new information. Learning the academic skills and how to be a student was pivotal."
When she progressed into her psychology degree, Antoinette found herself prepared for the challenge.
"My fear had halved, and I actually found STEPS more challenging than the degree," she said.
"I am so glad I got to do that first learning curve in STEPS instead of trying to learn everything while studying psychology at the same time."
Her fascination with psychology stems from a lifelong interest in people and the human experience.
"I adore humans and all our unique intricacies," she said.
"In this AI world we live in, nothing can replace the power of human connection and understanding."
Balancing study and motherhood
Shortly after completing STEPS and beginning her degree, Antoinette became pregnant.
Medical complications forced her to pause her studies, and when she returned 18 months later, she was balancing university with raising a young daughter while her partner frequently worked away from home and her family remained in Ireland.
"It was tricky," she said.
"I had a lot of guilt putting her in daycare, but looking back now, I think she is the social butterfly she is because she had exposure to lots of new people very early on.
"Both of our resilience grew because of that time."
Despite the challenges, Antoinette excelled academically, eventually graduating with a perfect GPA.
"I went from zero education to a 7 GPA,” she said.
“I have well and truly told that inner little girl that she is not in deficit in that area."
One of her proudest moments came when her daughter asked to practise a kindergarten presentation on campus.
"We went to the campus and she gave her little presentation in the big auditorium," Antoinette said.
"It was that moment I realised she will never experience that 'othering' that I did, because university is normalised for her now."
Finding her place in research
As her studies progressed, Antoinette discovered a passion for research and found strong support from family, mentors and CQUniversity staff.
During STEPS, her partner Sam created reading workbooks and tucked motivational notes between the chapters.
“I'd find them like little Easter eggs," she said.
She also credits a network of mentors who helped shape her academic journey, including Dr Michelle Gossner, Dr Kristie-Lee Alfrey, members of the Academic Learning Centre, STEPS lecturers Chris Maurer-Smolder, Virginia Kruger and Lindsay Welch, and honours supervisor and research mentor Professor Talitha Best.
Today, Antoinette works in a private psychology practice and contributes to CQUniversity's NeuroHealth Lab and Motivation of Health Behaviour Lab.
Her studies have also taken her beyond Australia. Through a Cheung Kong scholarship, Antoinette and her family spent five months living in Seoul, South Korea, where she studied at Hankuk University while continuing her CQUniversity coursework on line.
"It was the best time of our lives," she said.
"My daughter loved her Korean kindy and feeling snow for the first time."
For Antoinette, completing Honours represented far more than an academic achievement.
"To me, it meant I belonged and that I found the place I was looking for," she said.
"More importantly, it signalled a beginning, not an end."
Looking ahead
Antoinette has now submitted a PhD proposal focused on measuring self-compassion before, during and after psilocybin-assisted treatment to help improve outcomes for people experiencing eating disorders, disordered eating and body image concerns.
The proposed research builds on work she completed during a CQUniversity Summer Research Scholarship examining self-compassion and attitudes to eating.
She hopes to commence her PhD in 2027.
Reflecting on her journey, Antoinette has a simple message for anyone considering STEPS or returning to study.
"Do it," she said.
"It doesn't matter how educated or uneducated you are; STEPS will help get you where you need to be, not just academically, but psychologically and emotionally too."
And if she could speak to herself on her first day of STEPS?
"I would say, 'Well done' and 'Don't worry, you belong here.'"
In 2026, CQUniversity is celebrating 40 years of STEPS, its flagship enabling program that has helped thousands of Australians access higher education since 1986. The fee-free course equips students with the academic skills, confidence and support needed to successfully transition into university study, regardless of their previous educational experience.
2026 marks 40 years of CQUniversity’s STEPS pathway, which has helped thousands of students build the skills, confidence and foundations needed to pursue higher education. For four decades, STEPS has opened doors and helped make university study possible for people from many different backgrounds.
Learn more about CQU's STEPS program.
