Community
15 March, 2024
High honour for Derri’ resident
A WOMAN from Derrinallum was among five award winners celebrated on Tuesday evening as South West TAFE marked the achievements of graduates and outstanding students.
More than 400 people attended a ceremony to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of 71 graduating diploma students from the areas of agriculture, community services, conservation and ecosystem management, early childhood education and care and nursing.
The night also included the presentation of the 2023 Outstanding Student Awards, a Deakin University Award and two Excellence Awards.
South West TAFE cheif executive officer Mark Fidge said the awards night was a fantastic opportunity to recognise the success of students.
“It was a great evening celebrating our students’ achievements and acknowledging the valuable partnerships we have throughout the region,” he said.
Leanne Mulraney, who is studying early childhood education and care, said she was honoured to receive the Vocational Student of the Year award.
“It was a lot of work last year studying with a family, so it did take a lot of effort to get there,” she said.
“I had a lot of support from my lecturers and from my other classmates. They were fantastic in all getting through.
“I’ve been at home with my kids for 12 years, and I wanted to do something different. Daycare in rural areas is something that sometimes is really hard to get.
“I’ve got a bit of a passion for teaching kids, and I really wanted to be able to help in providing rural and regional communities with daycare. That was something I was really interested in.”
Other award winners on the night included:
Apprentice of the Year: Steven Mills, (Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology, Portland);
Koorie Student of the Year: Tara Roe (Individual Support, Colac);
Trainee of the Year: Portia Northcott (Business, Portland), and;
Deakin University Award: Tarah Andreou (Community Services, Warrnambool).
The Excellence Award winners were:
2023 Industry Collaboration Award: Eventide Homes Stawell; and,
2023 Community Collaboration Award: Neil Porter Legacy.
Mrs Mulraney said she appreciated the efforts of her lecturers and the support of her fellow students.
“I really appreciate all the effort they put in to helping me throughout the year, especially to the other students in my class,” she said.
“The encouragement and support, and just making it a really exciting environment to be in.
“I’m looking forward to completing my diploma; that’ll be the next year and a half.
“I’m working as a casual relief educator with the Corangamite Shire, so they’ve been really supportive with me continuing to do my diploma.”
Mrs Mulraney said TAFE is a good option for people looking to pursue their dream careers, regardless of their age.
“In my class there were many different ages of students and it didn’t really matter. We were all there for the same reason,” she said.
“If you’re looking to change career, it’s definitely a really good option.
“It’s really flexible; you can fit it in with your own family life and other obligations that you’ve got, and the lecturers were really good at being flexible when different things came up during the year.”
Mr Fidge said it was wonderful to hear so many of the graduating students were following their passions and now in employment in their chosen fields or going on to further study.
“It’s great that South West TAFE can play a part in changing people’s lives and leading them on to further study or employment,” he said.