Monica McMahon celebrated at ‘Being an Australian’ awards

The School of Education's student Monica McMahon has been recognised as an inspiring leader in her field from the National Council of Women (NCW) of NSW at the annual ‘Being an Australian’ event. The ceremony took place on the 22 January 2024 and was presented by Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC. Governor of New South Wales.

The Award is to assist and encourage the awardees in their chosen discipline in specific research in a post-graduate course or in the honours year and reflects a student who has achieved good grades throughout her course, despite being disadvantaged by illness, physical disability, financial need, family circumstances or other hardship.

Monica is currently pursuing a Master of Teaching (Secondary) through the Education Department’s Mid-Career Transition to Teaching Program, having earned a scholarship for her endeavours. With a background in Biomedical Science, Monica spent four years in medical research at the Heart Research Institute in Sydney before an injury prompted a shift in her career. Subsequently, she earned a Master of Pharmacy degree and gained experience as a community pharmacist in Newcastle, also serving as a Trainer Assessor for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

Throughout the teaching program, Monica faced the challenges of being a single mother, raising two preschool-aged children, combined with the frequent hospitalisations of one child due to severe asthma. Despite these obstacles, she has worked hard to overcome the difficulties of entering an entirely new field of study through proactive and constant engagement with course materials and course activities.

Last year, Monica commenced her role as an Education paraprofessional at Merewether High School, marking a significant step in her teaching journey.