The Warilla 43-year-old described his high school education as poor, partly due to dyslexia.

‘‘There was a bit of a poor view of dyslexia back then,’’ he said.

‘‘It was like if you can’t read, you can’t be smart and we were either good kids or naughty kids as a result.’’

After finishing school he had a string of unsatisfying, low-paying jobs until he taught himself computer skills and then used them in a graphic design job with local government.

Mr Parkinson then decided on further education and did a TAFE business diploma.

That introduction to education lead Mr Parkinson to embrace academic life with gusto, with a computer that read to him as part of his arsenal.

The Bachelor of Commerce Mr Parkinson gained on Friday joins a pyschology degree and a science degree with honours on his now impressive CV.

With the third qualification under his belt, his next challenge will be to undertake a research PhD on the barriers to higher education for people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

‘‘It is something that is really close to home for me,’’ he said.

Mr Parkinson said when people now described him as being educated, he still struggled to see himself that way.

His advice to others who may not think they were capable of going to university.

‘‘ A lot of people think they have to know a lot before they go but it’s not about knowing it’s about learning.

‘‘When I started I went looking for a model of a good learner. I looked at school kids first and then looked at babies.

‘‘When a baby’s learning to walk or talk they will do something 200 times until they get it.

‘‘They don’t turn around and say, ‘I can’t do it, I won’t walk’.

‘‘At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you learn to walk as eight months, or 12 months or 14 months and the difference in your walking skills would not be noticeable later on, no matter what age you started.’’

Mr Parkinson’s desire to help open up the potential for tertiary education to anyone, has already paid dividends on a personal level with his daughter, Erin, 24, donning the robes and mortar board in the same commerce graduation ceremony. His two sons Rowan Parkinson and Dylan Horvat are now also studying at the University of Wollongong.

‘‘I took it up, a bit because of pressure from dad,’’ Ms Watt said.

‘‘Coming from a lower socioeconomic background, I wanted to make my parents proud.

‘‘My grandmother has 30 grandkids and I was the first one to go to uni.’’

Ms Watt returned to the Illawarra for her graduation from her new home base of Sydney where she has started her ‘dream job’ as a fashion industry marketing and public relations co-ordinator.

She said she couldn’t be more proud to be graduating next to her father.