Mel and Cassandra are high flying examples of strength and determination

Cassandra Fuit and Mel Chabert are two students of Southern Cross University (SCU) who have been singled out not only for their academic excellence, but also for their personal stories, which the university describes as being “case studies in strength, determination and the power of learning to change lives.”

Ms Fuit left school without an ATAR, having internalised the message that she was not smart enough for tertiary education at university. 

Graduating this year, she proved her high school detractor wrong, completing a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education (Primary/Early Childhood) with a GPA of 6.1 (out of 7). 

Her studies were punctuated by the arrival of three daughters and the challenges of the COVID years, during which she banded together with other parents to establish a home-school co-operative. 

On completing high school, she worked in a long day care setting for a number of years before returning to study to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. 

“I struggled when I was younger,” she said. “School and I were not a good fit, but that changed as I got older and I came back to uni as a different person with a different world view.” 

“I love it. It feels like it’s what I’m meant to be doing.” 

For Ms Chabert, a French national who recently graduated with a Graduate Diploma of Education (Early Childhood), her new career path is a world away – literally and metaphorically – from her original one which involved studying business and marketing in France and in the United States, before moving to Australia and settling in Byron Bay. 

Yearning for a career change, she developed a love of teaching while tutoring friends’ children in French. 

For Professor Amy Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, Executive Dean of Southern Cross University’s Faculty of Education, the ‘truly remarkable’ thing about these women’s stories is that they are, in many respects, unremarkable.

“There is a focus on the challenges facing the national education sector and for good reason,” she said. 

“But in many ways, there has never been a better time, or more opportunity for people to make their mark as teachers. Employment outcomes for our graduates run around 100% and many of our students are in jobs, making a contribution from quite early on in their studies.” 

“We see the high quality of our graduates as an important part of our mission to help the sector deal with the related issues of increasingly complex classroom environments, questions about graduate preparedness and teachers leaving the profession at unsustainable levels.” 

This quality focus aligns with Ms Chabert’s experience, something she noticed when she was offered work during her first placement. 

“They were really happy with me and I really liked the place I was given – they kept me on pretty much full time,” she said. 

“Whenever I had assignments, I could drop back and focus on them, and at term breaks I could increase my hours.” 

Two months before she graduated with her Graduate Diploma (GPA 6.38), she was offered a more senior role as a teacher, supervisor and educational leader at a long day care centre in Billinudgel. 

“It is amazing,” she says. “I love it. The community feeling is so strong.” 

Learn more about studying with SCU using this link.