Despite having a degree in accounting and auditing and ten years of experience as a business accountant in Vietnam, Chau’s qualifications were not recognised in Australia.

When she migrated to Australia in 2021, the excitement of her first few weeks in a new country turned to despair as she realised she would have to start her learning all over again. COVID lockdowns meant she couldn’t get out of the house to socialise or find work opportunities.

“I was trying to find a job, learn how to use public transport, do paperwork to set up Medicare and a Tax File Number, open bank accounts, start the visa process, and integrate into a new culture,” she said.

Chao took all of this in her stride; viewing the challenges as a positive way to learn, grow and reinvent herself.

Determined to start over, improve her English and develop friendships, she enrolled in the Certificate III in English as Another Language (EAL), at Chisholm Institute of TAFE, and then promptly joined the Western Bulldogs footy team fan club! 

Her Chisholm teachers guided her through English grammar, as well as colloquial slang and conversational terms. Chau discovered she was a talented writer, something she’d never been able to explore as an accountant.

Chau was grateful and humbled by her being selected as a finalist in the 2024 Chisholm Education Awards, Foundation Student of the Year category.

“Going to Chisholm changed my life,” she said. “My teachers really believed in me and helped me to improve myself.”

With her new-found confidence, Chau is now considering enrolling in a Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping at Chisholm to renew her professional skills; she dreams of one day starting her own accounting business.

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