Rachel Sewell walked straight into a job at a Hervey Bay school a few weeks after finishing her primary education degree at USC.
Before she enrolled to study, Rachel was a high school youth worker. She said working with disengaged youth inspired her to pursue a career as a teacher.
“I realised that lack of education was one of the biggest barriers many of these young people faced, and by becoming a teacher I could help them to succeed in life,” she said.
Rachel now teaches Year 6 at Pialba State School.
“I know this semester is going to be a really important time for my class, as we prepare for their transition into high school,” she said.
One of the benefits Rachel found about studying at Fraser Coast was the small class sizes, which she said helped her achieve good results throughout her degree.
“The highlight would definitely be the lecturers, particularly Dr Sharon Louth, Dr Trevor Black and Dr David Martin, for their continuous support and genuinely having the students’ best interests at heart,” she said.
Working alongside Rachel at Pialba State School is her USC classmate Julie Anne Curtis, who spent over 20 years working in the legal industry and in private business before deciding on a career change.
She said assisting her own child learn with dyslexia fuelled a desire to help other young students realise their full potential.
Earlier this year, Julie Anne received the Fraser Coast Anglican College Prize in Education for highest-achieving second-year or third-year Bachelor of Education student.
During her studies, she also mentored students from Urangan State High School’s Academic and Cultural Excellence program in weekly computer coding and circuitry classes at USC’s Fraser Coast campus.
Ready to study at USC in 2019?
