When Amelia started her Certificate IV in School-based Education Supoprt, she was dealing with a relationship breakdown, which also involved moving to a new home, and settling her four special needs children into their new environment.

She was also the carer for her disabled sister, and her mother and stepfather, all of whom have severe medical conditions that require Amelia to manage their medical needs.

As the course progressed, Amelia started missing a few classes due to all the demands on her time. Her educators worked closely with her to develop a manageable schedule, and gave her advice to help her complete the course.

To keep up with the learning content, Amelia often joined classes by phone whilst taking her children to school.

Her work placement went so well that the school offered her an ongoing job as an education support worker.

Despite all the pressures on her, she was resilient and maintained a great work ethic throughout the course. For all those reasons, Amelia was selected as a finalist in the Vocational Student of the Year category in the 2024 Chisholm Education Awards.

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