Student Highlights
Rhiannon aims to give rural education a boost

Having graduated from a small, rural school, Rhiannon has always been aware of the difficulty schools face when attracting permanent, quality teachers to rural areas.

“For one of my HSC subjects, we had a range of casual teachers rather than one permanent teacher, which was unhelpful as we prepared for our high-stakes exams,” Rhiannon said.

With a passion for learning and reading, especially in humanities subjects, it was only fitting for Rhiannon to choose to study a Bachelor of Education (Secondary).

“I chose to come to the University of Newcastle because it is renowned for its teaching program, and Newcastle is the perfect mix between rural and metropolitan,” she said.

Growing up herself with English as a second language, when the opportunity to volunteer for the Marigold Co-operation came up, Rhiannon was immediately engaged as she remembered how casual conversation helped her to become more fluent in English.

“I also jumped at the opportunity to gain experience in a classroom, as well as being able to learn from the students about themselves, their culture and their lives,” she said.

Rhiannon meets with the year ten class at Navodit School in Kathmandu over Zoom for an hour every week. Their primary goal is to help students become more fluent or naturalised in English, so conversation is a big part of it.

As the experience was Rhiannon’s first-time teaching in front of a class, she gained insights into what works, what engages the students and how to run a classroom with the added barrier of not being face-to-face.

Rhiannon considers herself a success if students leave their lessons feeling like they enjoyed themselves and learned something valuable.

Her biggest piece of advice to students thinking of being involved in an opportunity like this, is to just do it!

“Volunteering for the Marigold Co-operation helped me gain valuable skills and experience, and I genuinely loved seeing the students improve their ability from week to week. I’d recommend it to any other teachers,” she said.

With plans to graduate at the end of 2023, Rhiannon hopes to become a secondary Special Education teacher in a rural community school.

“I want to combat the casualisation of teachers in rural schools, as well as the lack of Special Education teachers in these areas. This is one way I can play my part in giving rural areas a boost,” Rhiannon said.

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Rhiannon Kemp

Volunteering in Nepal provides Rhiannon an educational experience of a lifetime.

Volunteering for the Marigold Co-operation has helped me gain skills and experience, and I genuinely love seeing the students improve their ability from week to week.