After achieving one of Queensland’s highest ATAR scores, Rockhampton student, Grace Crow, has defied all expectations to pursue her passion to teach. Now, she studies a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) at QUT and encourages other students to pursue a career that fosters impact, passion and growth.
We had a chat to Grace about her ambitions, growing through change, and the QUT experience.
'I see teachers as the people who foster the great innovators, the great creators, the great mathematicians of the world and I think it’s a great career path and will be a rewarding career.'
Why did you choose this area of study? What sparked your initial interest?
I don’t think I can pinpoint exactly what inspired me to study teaching. Instead, I’d describe it as a calling I have always felt – a vocation. Pursuing a career in teaching is where I believe my full potential can be realised – my potential for intellect and academia, for adaptability, for hard work, for leadership, for empathy and to enact change.
There are several factors that helped me make this decision; my healthy relationship with school and love of learning, the numerous passionate and incredibly intelligent teachers I have had, and my own experience with teaching music and the intrinsic rewards it has yielded. On top of this, I have grown up in a household where education has always been valued. My parents were my first teachers and showed me the beauty that radiates when people mutually share knowledge and experience. I chose teaching because I see it as a career where I will be able to share my gifts and be challenged to grow in all facets of my character.
Please tell us about your pathway to your current course, and any tips you would like to share with future students.
I would say I had a smooth pathway to studying teaching; I was required to achieve the same or above the entrance ATAR, and to complete a questionnaire that encouraged me to consider and express why I wanted to be a teacher. I found the questionnaire challenging because it was difficult to fully articulate the feeling I felt towards teaching. I believe it was a necessary challenge, however, because vocalising my intuition meant that I had to be sure in my decision to study education. I was lucky enough to be given a QUT Excellence Scholarship (Academic) and received the news on my birthday – perfect timing!
Coming from a regional city, however, there were several factors I had to consider when deciding to move to Brisbane. I would encourage future students, especially those from regional and rural areas, to reach out to a person ‘in the know’. Personal connections are a wonderful help, but universities (especially QUT) also have a great support network who are there to answer your questions, even when you are unsure what to ask. Attending university and moving to the big city can feel daunting when transitioning out of school, so gaining insider knowledge is incredibly valuable in relieving that stress and informing decisions.
What made you choose QUT?
There are many reasons why I chose QUT. Firstly, at QUT I was given the opportunity to study education as a single degree, which differed from other Brisbane universities where you are required to study teaching in tandem with another degree. This option appealed to me because it meant I would only be in classes with other education students, and that all my courses – not just my teaching subjects – would be taught with a real-world focus on education and the classroom.
After nearly a year of study, I have found my expectations to be fulfilled – I have formed connections with my fellow preservice teachers in collaborative tutorials, and everything I have learnt in my courses has been taught through the lens of education. Also, at the time I was applying for university, my older sister was finishing up her second year in the same degree. She advocated her love for her course, her fantastic experiences with practicum, and her gratitude that she had chosen QUT. This encouraged me to choose QUT, because I too wanted to love my course, my university environment, and my study. Although I used some rational reasoning, it is also fair to say that some of my decision-making came purely from intuition. I had a gut feeling about the course, and a feeling that QUT was the right place for me.
What parts of the course have been most beneficial, or have you particularly enjoyed?
I have particularly enjoyed attending my tutorials this year. I have found the tutorials to be engaging and collaborative, and consequently I have formed positive relationships with my peers and tutors. Within tutorials I have had the opportunity to practice teaching topics to the class, work in groups, and receive support from my tutors. Not only have I appreciated the hands-on approach to learning within class, but I have also found myself wanting to work hard at my assessments outside of class. I look forward to attending my classes each week, seeing my uni friends, and engaging in the course material.
What are the highlights of your student experience at QUT?
Throughout this year I have benefited thoroughly from the accessible and inclusive facilities at QUT. You’ll often find me studying in quiet zones of the library or collaborating with uni friends in the Curriculum Collection on Level 4 – positive environments where I feel motivated to complete my work. With the cafes, open outdoor areas, tables in the greenery, and study spaces overlooking the city, I have found the atmosphere at QUT to be conducive to forming friendly relationships with others and working hard at my studies.
The highlights of my experience at QUT have come from the warm environment and the friendliness of my peers and tutors, something I value highly considering I am far from home. Despite the challenge of transitioning from school to university, I have found that at QUT I have a desire to be agentic in my own success as a uni student and to further my career opportunities.
How will you use the skills and experience you have gained in the future? What career goals are you hoping to achieve?
Currently, my main career goal is purely to achieve what I came here to achieve – to be able to get out into the classroom and start teaching. I’d like to think that once I gain experience in the classroom, I will be able to further my career and move into leadership positions within schools, however I am currently focused on the near future. While I would like to gain experience in rural areas as well as in the larger cities, my plan now is to take advantage of the opportunities that come my way during the final years of my course. My tutors have already provided me with a bank of resources and skills – all pedagogical, curriculum, professionalism, and classroom management focused – which I will continue to build upon as I continue my course and engage in placement.
An important skill that I have been learning since Semester 1 and will continue to perfect over my course, is to critically reflect on my experiences, striving to better myself as a teacher in service of my learners. Feedback on my assignments and classwork has already provided me with the continuous opportunity to critically reflect on my work with a mindset underpinned by theory and personal knowledge. To be able to critically reflect on my experiences is a real-world skill that I will be able to draw upon as I enter the workforce and will ensure I keep myself accountable as I am challenged to grow as a teacher throughout my career.