Jacqui wants to realise her potential

Jacqui left school at the age of 16 to become a single mum. She has then spent the last six years raising her son and working casually and part time when possible. Jacqui starting volunteering at the Numurkah Preschool when her son began school – this is what sparked a love for early childhood education and care and drove her to begin her studies.

Jacqui began volunteering at Numurkah Preschool in 2018 and realised that early childhood education and care was a career she was wanting to pursue. She decided that a blended delivery was the optimal way for her to begin her studies as she needed both the face to face interactions with the motivation for continuing the learning at home as well. She completed four weeks of pre-study before commencing her Certificate III in Early Childhood Education & Care with Cobram Community House, which was put in place to assist her in getting back into studying.

Jacqui travels every week from Numurkah to Cobram to attend classes on a Thursday. She never misses a class. Once a week she completes online face to face classes. She has to juggle parenthood and student life to attend. Jacqui has a strong work ethic and is highly dedicated to her studies. She has never missed a due date submission for her assessments, and her quality of work submitted is at a standard beyond the Certificate III qualification. Jacqui is motivated and intelligent; despite raising a child on her own, with the many commitments a parent already has, she is submitting work before due dates and is ahead of her work schedule.

Jacqui has already completed her minimum required 120 hours, however she continues to complete her placement and volunteer work at the Numurkah Preschool to ensure that she is continuously learning and gaining as much experience and knowledge as she possibly can. The employees at Numurkah sing her praises and they often ask her to come in and help on separate days as they look at her as a valuable asset to their team.

Jacqui is a kind, confident and happy face in class, and she is looked up to from our younger students as a mentor and role model. She is going to make an extraordinary early childhood educator.

Jacqui has always put herself second to her son and her family over the last few years. Not completing her secondary education has meant that there has always been restrictions on her career pathways. Completing this Certificate III in Early Childhood Education & Care course will allow Jacqui to explore employment opportunities in something that she is passionate and excited about. She will be able to blend her love of education with her love of children as a career and have the chance to be a part of a profession that she believes will make an impact on children’s lives.

Jacqui has always thought of herself as more of a solitary person, someone who prefers to be on their own. However since her son has started school and she has began studying and volunteering at the preschool, she has realised she loves social contact, challenging herself and being around other like minded individuals.

Recently Jacqui was encouraged to apply for a position for casual/part-time work at Numurkah Preschool, as they had been so impressed by her work ethic, knowledge and capabilities.

Jacqui would love to take her study further and work towards a Diploma of Early Childhood Education & Care and beyond to complete a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and she could go far. As a single mum and on a low income a scholarship would help her continue along this path.

If you know an outstanding learner why not celebrate their achievements and nominate them for an ALW scholarship.