FOR 29-year-old, Rye mother-of-two Mariah Kendle, the option of being able to study nursing and give her family a brighter future seemed out of reach until she heard about the options for study available through TAFE.
After completing a course in individual support and being named trainee student of the year, from Chisholm TAFE, she is now well on her way to a nursing degree.
Kendle, whose determination to succeed made her stand out from the crowd at the Rosebud campus where she studied, credits staff for motivating her to complete her studies and define her goals.
“Studying a course in individual support has put me on the pathway to further study, and I can now work in the sector I am interested in” she said.
The Chisholm awards recognise the efforts of students and staff across the institute’s diverse courses and programs.
“I am honoured to lead an organisation that produces such outstanding talent. The past year has been unprecedented and raised many challenges, which makes our finalists achievements even more outstanding,” Chisholm’s director and CEO Stephen Varty said.
Apprentice of the year William McCallum, who lives in Mount Eliza and studied metal fabrication at the Dandenong campus, said the knowledge and skills he learned at TAFE were instrumental in cementing his love of the trade.
“I’m really lucky that I got a job in the industry I love, and thanks to my tertiary studies I have the skills I need to go further,” he said.
“Studying actually taught me a lot more than I thought it would.”
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 14 June 2022
