Student Highlights
Iglal’s pathway to becoming a teacher
Iglal Kodi reached her dream of becoming a teacher through persistence and hard work after arriving in Australia as a refugee from Sudan.
When Iglal arrived in Maitland, she had to overcome many barriers. Not only did she have to learn new content during High School, but her family spoke Arabic, so she also had to learn English.
“I came from Sudan, Africa and when we arrived in Australia in 2005, I came as a refugee. When we came to Australia, I had to learn English and I went into Year 10 straight away” said Iglal.
She dreamt of becoming a teacher but didn’t get the marks to get directly into a teaching degree. After being recommended by her high school Career Adviser, Iglal decided to enrol in an enabling pathway program at the University to get closer to achieving her dream.
“The pathway program at the University of Newcastle gave me the opportunity to not only enter the degree that I wanted to study but it also prepared me to university life. Without an enabling program it would have been really difficult... it was a very important step in my life, and it changed my life forever” said Iglal.
After completing the pathway program, Iglal completed a Bachelor of Teaching (secondary) and Bachelor of Arts before going on to work as a High School teacher in the Hunter region.
"I love how teachers help other generations. To me, being a teacher is sharing my knowledge... to help generations to achieve their dreams. At the moment I’m using my qualification as a high school teacher, but I’m not going to stop there. I hope that one day I’ll come back to university, and do my doctorate, and become a lecturer. I hope that I’ll be able to go back to Africa and build many schools.”
Iglal wants to be a role model and inspiration for many African girls and women to encourage them to also pursue their dreams.
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Iglal Kodi
Iglal reached her dream of becoming a teacher through persistence and hard work after arriving in Australia as a refugee from Sudan.
To me, being a teacher is sharing my knowledge to help generations to achieve their dreams.
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