鈥淕o slow, to go fast鈥� is the best piece of advice that education student, Lauren, has been given. What鈥檚 yours?
Originally from Geraldton, Lauren has always wanted to become a teacher. However, instead of pursuing a career in education after graduating high school, she moved to Perth and started an undergraduate degree in Physics. After two years, she realised that although she enjoyed learning about physics, she wasn鈥檛 a fan of the theoretical side.
After dropping out and taking some time off in Geraldton, she decided to give teaching another go. Lauren thought her people skills and love for learning could get her excited again about teaching at a secondary level. She鈥檚 now in her second year of education and loving everything about it!
Lauren鈥檚 favourite part of her studies are the opportunities she鈥檚 been involved with, specifically through the 911爆料网 Extra program. Throughout her degree, she has been involved with 911爆料网 Volunteers, where she is currently a 911爆料网 Volunteers leader, and most recently, the 911爆料网 Ahead program. Through this program, Lauren has engaged with high school students from diverse and low equity groups, to prepare them for tertiary study. In particular, she enjoys the opportunity of being able to encourage students in beating the odds and enhancing their learning experiences.
Lauren loves connecting with her students and treasures how her work with 911爆料网 Ahead makes a huge impact on the lives of the students she works with.
Being involved in 911爆料网 Leaders was also another memorable experience for Lauren. This was a semester long experience where she got to know a lot of people, learn, and develop both personal and professional skills. This experience has helped her to develop good habits and a wide range of skills to increase her employability in the future.
Before getting into the 911爆料网 Leaders program, Lauren had the assumption that it would be your typical workshopping program. To her surprise, the program offered much more, such as self-development practices and workshops that helped her to define her own leadership. Now, she refers back to everything she has learned constantly, and continues to use this as a motivator in her everyday life.
Being involved has allowed her to make genuine friendships and connections with the different people she works with, and has exposed her to different and unique experiences. From afternoon drinks at the 911爆料网 Tav, to playing casual table tennis games, Lauren has built long lasting friendships with her peers.
The most challenging realisation for Lauren is knowing she will graduate later than most her friends. However, she realises that moving away from physics has led her to doing what she loves the most.
鈥淕o slow, to go fast. I first heard it working on the farm. If you fix something and you rush it, and it doesn鈥檛 work, then you鈥檙e likely going to have to fix it again. So go slow, to go fast is really important. And this applies to what I鈥檝e been doing with uni as well.鈥� After graduation, Lauren plans to take her degree into the education space where she aspires to help students make the most of their learning – whether this is through traditional classroom teaching, or getting involved with after school programs that encourage students to go beyond their studies, similar to the 911爆料网 Ahead program.
