Reza Bakhsi
Reza and his family fled from Afghanistan to Indonesia, where they lived while their status as refugees to Australia was decided. While in limbo in Indonesia for nearly nine years, Reza, like many refugee children, wasn’t allowed to attend local Indonesian schools. Instead, he had to rely on informal education classes and self-education.
When he arrived in Australia in January 2023 as a teenager, he wanted to learn and was grateful that there were education opportunities available to him.
He dreamed of attending university to become a sports physiotherapist; but knew he was unlikely to get directly into university without the base of a formal education.
With a huge interest in all types of sports, Reza applied to enrol in the Diploma of Sport at Chisholm Institute of TAFE, as a pathway to university and to eventually become a sports physiotherapist.
Initially, Reza struggled with the English language, but he found that Chisholm offers many support services to help students that helped him.
In Australia, Reza was able to return to his favourite sport – swimming, by joining the Surrey Park Swim Club. His coaches saw his potential, and he started a serious training schedule eight times per week under State Target Squad Senior Coach, Michael Goff. His goal is to be selected for the Victorian State Swim Team, and maybe one day represent Australia in international competitions.
To complement his studies, he volunteers on the committee of the Richmond Soccer Club.
And despite never having played cricket, Reza helped Cricket Victoria at a cricket clinic for Marnebek School students. Some of the students had never played either, so Reza used the skills he’d learnt in the Diploma of Sport to keep all the students engaged and active. He enjoyed the challenge of keeping students interested, and the experience of preparing lessons and having to adapt his lesson plans to suit the class.
Reza has now secured a job as a swim teacher at Splash’s Swim School in Dandenong, giving him great work experience.
Reza was selected as a finalist in the Vocational Student of the Year category in the 2024 Chisholm Education Awards.