When they leave a school, they leave an indelible mark.

Stacey Exner is one such educator.

Mrs Exner is leaving Dubbo College after 25 years of service for the sand and sun of Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

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“I am going to find it hard to leave my friends and colleagues because we have a great team here,” Mrs Exner said.

“I have enjoyed a great deal of support from both the teaching and non-teaching staff in Dubbo over my career. I am proud of how the college is embedded in the community.

“I have enjoyed watching students grow and helping them achieve their goals, it’s a great privilege to be involved in their lives and in some cases form relationships with them as adults.”

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Dubbo PDHPE teacher Kimberley Forrester is one such student, she says Mrs Exner inspired her to be a teacher.

“Stacey taught me from year eight until year 12 and was my netball coach,” she said.

“Just the way she interacts with the students and the compassion she shows for students inspired me to want to be a teacher. I just wanted to emulate her and be the best teacher I could be.”

Mrs Exner said Dubbo had provided her with many happy moments.

“I am most proud of the collaboration we have across the three campus sites, my vision was that we all learn from and share with each other, I believe that each student should be known and cared for and we’ve achieved that in Dubbo,” she said.

“I’ve raised three wonderful children here and made wonderful friends who have become family; we will miss them and Dubbo.

“The only reason we are leaving is to be close to my husband’s elderly parents, but I will still be working, I still have a passion for education. I will be the college principal of the Northern Beaches secondary college, so like here, there will be a number of campuses that I will be leading.”