Employer: North Metropolitan TAFE

A teaching position in a remote Aboriginal community in Fitzroy Crossing was the catalyst for a change in career direction for Holly, as she discovered a passion in Aboriginal education.  

Holly says "I was offered a position in Fitzroy Crossing, a remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia. It was my time spent there that would change the course of my career as it unveiled my passion for Aboriginal education with a focus on trauma informed care/practice." 

Having previously worked as a teacher and then abroad teaching English in Kenya and China, it was while lecturing in Education Support at North Metropolitan TAFE that Holly was approached to develop and deliver a new program for Western Australia’s Department of Education to upskill Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education officers across Perth Metropolitan Schools. 

Whilst developing and delivering the course, Holly used her extensive knowledge of Aboriginal pedagogy to adapt assessment tools and online modules that met the learning needs of future students.  

Here she delivered a ‘mixed mode’ course that included face-to-face support, work placement visits, online modules and hub meetings, which served as networking opportunities for the students.  

Within the first 12 months of delivering the course, Holly successfully supported 10 Aboriginal students through the Certificate III and IV in Education Support—North Metropolitan TAFEs largest cohort of Aboriginal students to graduate from a single course.