Thinking about studying as a mature student? Broadcaster Sarah Bradley’s advice is to “absolutely do it”, after recently completing a PhD in International Relations.

The former TVNZ Good Morning show presenter and current Radio New Zealand newsreader, aged 58, took six years to complete her qualification after returning from a stint working with the New York Mission to the UN. Her thesis is on New Caledonia’s independence struggle over the last 40 years—something very topical currently.

The benefits of being a mature student

“The great benefit about being a PhD student who’s a mature student is the financial security I had,” Sarah says. She recalls being an undergraduate, and although there were no fees to pay then, she says there were still rent and other living expenses to scrape together the money for.

“Because I’d worked so hard all my life and I’d saved up for something like this, I had the luxury of funding myself to do things like go to New Caledonia and I didn’t have to get a loan or anything. That was from good financial planning over my life. That is a huge burden off – not having to be finding where your next dollar is coming from, or scrimping and saving.”

Sarah says the other great thing about studying now is that so much is online.

“Back in the day, even for my Master’s, which was in 2010, it was still (physically) going in to the library all the time and finding books, finding articles. You can now get your articles, your books even, online.

“It’s a good thing because it’s easy and it’s quick. But it’s a bad thing because there’s too much information.”

Sarah says she is still considering exactly how to use her PhD, but is currently involved in writing scholarly articles in the area of international relations.

Could study be for you?

For those seniors considering studying, Sarah recommends doing something you love, something you can manage and using it to get your brain moving.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re going to go and do a bachelor’s degree or a diploma. Or maybe you’ve got your bachelor’s, and you go and do your Master’s,” she says.

“My biggest advice is you’ve got to be passionate about your topic. Don’t go and do a Diploma in Business Management if you want to be a tap dancer.

“I’m passionate about speaking French. I’m passionate about International Relations and so for me, this PhD was never a chore. Never. Because I loved what I was writing about and researching.

‘And, I know this for a fact: studying or challenging yourself in any way, is really good for warding off dementia.”

Sarah says she recently had a brain injury, and the doctor advised doing something she hadn’t done before to help rebuild the synapses in her brain, so she began learning the piano. But study can do the same thing, she says.

Tips for the mature traveller

Sarah’s thesis topic was a great fit for someone who loves to travel. And this love of travel has provided another way for the experienced broadcaster to put her skills to work. She and her boyfriend Kevin recently completed a trip to Bali. Before leaving they researched what to do and what to know when they got there, spotting an opportunity while they were doing it.

“We are these painfully organised travellers, so we have a spreadsheet – we know where we’re going, who’s picking us up, and where we’re staying,” Sarah says.

“That’s the way I like to travel now. When I was young, of course I just swanned around Europe. But not now. Now I like to have a comfortable bed and to know where I’m going to be.”

During their research on YouTube for videos about travelling in Bali, they found little of inspiration for mature travellers.

“It was literally 22-year-olds – my daughter’s age – in bikinis, or it was hot boys,” she says.

Sarah told Kevin she was “Over the Influencers” and soon their own Over the Influencers YouTube channel was born, offering travel tips and tricks for mature travellers. They’ve completed a series of videos on Bali and have recently returned from South America, so there are more to come.

Sarah recommends researching your destination well before you go and having good comprehensive travel insurance in place. If using the insurance available through your credit card, she suggests making sure it covers everything you need and to supplement it if need be. Plan ahead – including things like having a driver meet you when you first get to a city, to help you find your feet, and she says you need to be very wary of scams.

“Don’t let someone come up to you at the airport and say ‘taxi!’ because they’re probably going to charge you 20,000 times what you would normally pay,” she says.

Try not to stand out too much – avoid wearing expensive jewelry and don’t keep your phone in your hand in front of you. Be surreptitious with your phone use.

These Over the Influencers clearly have plenty of adventures left in them yet.