Having enjoyed a great schooling experience through primary and high school, Joyce Ralph decided she wanted to follow her love for teaching and learning in a career.
At age 23, the Bachelor of Education (Pre-Service) student is in her final year of her studies with Charles Darwin University and can’t wait to put her learning into practice as a fully qualified teacher.
Joyce said her own experience at school sparked her interest in the field.
“I always loved school while I was growing up,” she said.
“I went to a great primary school, loved my high school and enjoyed the boarding school I went to.
“Because I had such a great school experience, I thought that teaching would be a great career for me.”
Joyce said that although she’d most likely teach in Darwin and other town areas in the near future, she wanted to teach in remote communities at some stage.
“I could see myself teaching in towns, but eventually I’d like to teach out in Aboriginal communities for a little while,” she said.
“I would like to work in schools as not only a classroom teacher, but as Head of Indigenous Support. A principal would be pretty cool too, but that’s a lot of work.”
Always keen to see more Indigenous students continuing their studies at tertiary level, Joyce offered some advice which she still uses to this day.
“If you make the decision to go to uni then it needs to be your number one priority,” she said.
“Try to work around potential problems that will affect your uni studies and always talk to someone if you’re stressing out or having problems.”