Meet The Student Who Was "Medically Unfit" For The Defence Force But Is Becoming A Pilot Anyway

This post is presented in partnership with CQUniversity.

Flat feet almost kept CQUniversity student Nick Harvie grounded for life, but he's not letting them hold him back from a career in the skies.

“I think the first time I remember talking to my parents about wanting to become a pilot was probably around the age of 8, 9, 10, thereabouts,” the now 19-year-old told Student Edge.

At the time, Nick suspects his parents were simply humouring his grand designs.

“It almost was that kind of attitude, when you think back to it, of how my brother always said he wanted to be a fireman. Even though he now is a fireman,” he laughed.

Clearly these brothers know what they want.

“I guess they didn’t really realise how serious I was about it until maybe 16, 17, when I first applied for the Defence Force and they went, ‘Oh, righty-o, he’s serious about this.'”

Before he’d even finished high school, he’d put his hand up for the Defence Force, only to have his dreams dashed at the final stage of application.

“It wasn’t until I got to the very last medical examination, after the one-on-one interview, that the medical examiner said, ‘You’ve got flat feet; we can’t take you,’" he recalled.

“They deemed me medically unfit… and unfortunately that was the end of that track there. That’s when I started to pursue the track of completing high school and going into university.”

If you thought that would be the end of the story for someone as determined – and as sure of his dream job since childhood – as Nick, you’re mistaken.

Pictured: Nick with a PA-28 Piper Challenger at the Aero Dynamic Flight Academy.

At the same time as his Defence Force knockback, Nick began flying with a local academy. Today, he’s studying a Bachelor of Aviation (Technology) at CQUniversity Bundaberg, home of the FMX Redbird flight simulator (one of only four of its type in Australia).

“[The course includes] a large, vast array of subjects,” he explained.

“There’s IT; there’s OHS; there’s, of course, the aviation subjects [and] they come in five different theory subjects, as well as air transportation, which is basically a management [unit], as well as two flight training [units].”

He’s complementing his studies with weekly servicing stints at the Air Queensland hanger in Bundaberg.

Now at the end of his first year of study, Nick is surer than ever of his future plans.

“I’m looking towards one of two careers, if not moulding two careers over a lifetime,” he said.

“One is Airservices Australia Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting… I rather recently applied for that and that’s one road I’d love to go down as soon as possible and make a career out of it.

“Later on, once I’ve acquired all the experience I require, I’d like to look into international commercial piloting.”

It’s not so different from those plans he had as an eight-year-old.

“Over the years, as I saw more and more to do with aviation and more of the jobs available within aviation, I decided, ‘Well hey, that looks like a pretty swell industry to go into, and it’s still ever-growing, so might as well kick it off with that.'”

Photos supplied by Nick Harvie.

Open up your universe and consider a degree at CQUniversity, just like Nick. For more information, go to cqu.edu.au