Pre-service teachers Hayley Creed and Cara Dowse-Collyer inspire Dubbo students

Australian Catholic University students Hayley Creed and Cara Dowse-Collyer are currently on placement at St John's College working as industrial technology teachers.

After some friends recommended doing work placement in a rural community, the women were placed in Dubbo after the ACU worked in partnership with the Bathurst Diocese to boost the number of pre-service teachers heading into key hard-to-staff areas.

"Hayley and I are both Indigenous and we wanted to go to an area that had a higher Indigenous population so we could give back to our community, get involved and learn not just about the kids but about ourselves," Ms Dowse-Collyer said.

The girls originally from Sydney and Port Macquarie respectively, both said they would love to work in a rural area once they graduate.

"I went on placement in Brewarrina in year 10 and did a sister city exchange between the councils and ever since I have wanted to be a teacher," Ms Creed said.

"My goal at the end of the degree is to go out to Lightning Ridge, Bourke or Wallgett and really get in with the high Indigenous population schools and try and give back and play my part as an Indigenous woman."

Ms Dowse-Collyer who is majoring in industrial and minoring in textiles, computing and engineering teaching, found her love for the subjects when she was in high school.

"I did metal work in high school and it was the one subject where there was no stress with theory work and you could be yourself and make your own thing," she said.

But teaching industrial classes wasn't always the plan.

"I originally wanted to do phycology and be a school counsellor but at the last minute I went this way to do a more practical and hands on subject," she said.

"It's also good for Indigenous students are more hands on and even in remote communities you can get them into trades with it even if they don't go to university, you can still help break the cycle and get them to have a really good future."

For Ms Creed, this placement has changed her plans, going from majoring in industrial to textiles, design and technology and now minoring in industrial, computing and engineering.

"Technology is such a hands on subject and was in such high demand when we were applying to university," she said.

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Being female teachers in classes that are predominately run by men, was another factor in why the two women wanted to do technology teaching.

Ms Dowse-Collyer said at her last placement girls were barely engaging in the classes until she entered the classroom.

"I would show them things and then I would walk around the classroom and look back and see them trying to do it themselves, it would build so much confidence in them seeing a female at the end of the room...it was probably good to see someone they could relate to," she said.

Ms Creed said she joined the teaching profession to give back to young people and be a role model.

"You're the one helping them flourish into the young humans they are going to be," she said.

Ms Dowse-Collyer said being a teacher has a bigger impact on a students life than people realise.

"Even if you don't realise it, you might only be with a student for a couple of classes but every small bit you are with them makes a big difference," she said.

"Everyone forgets how hard being a teenager is, so it's nice to be that person for them, they might not have someone at home but you're there for them at school and you can make more difference than you ever know you do."

Ms Creed said teaching was a very rewarding profession.

"Every day you learn something new, you teach something new and you see the students faces light up and that makes you realise that you do make a difference in someone's life and it's like that every day with teaching," she said.

With the ongoing teachers strikes over the past year regarding the teacher shortage and the pay dispute, the two young women aren't too worried.

"I wouldn't say I'm put off, I might say I'm a bit cautious but at the end of the day, like in any job, you're going to have a challenge and things are going to change regardless," Ms Dowse-Collyer said.

Ms Creed agreed with her colleague.

"The kids are always going to be there and they're going to need leaders no matter what," she said.

"You go into a career knowing the challenges but with teaching the positives always outweigh the challenges."

Ms Dowse-Collyer would encourage other people to join the teaching profession or undertake the university degree but only if they have the drive to help young people.

"You can't purely do it for the money or the holidays, you really have to want to help young people otherwise you're not going to want to do it and you are going to negatively impact young people if you don't have the drive," she said.

Ms Creed said the Dubbo community has really gotten around the university students.

"It's really nice to see because you don't get that in Sydney because everyone is too busy," she said.

"I would like to thank the ACU and the Bathurst Diocese for giving us the opportunity because we couldn't have done it without them, and the Indigenous community have also been really supportive of us."

ACU National Head of the School of Education Professor Donna King said the increase of placement teachers was due to a combination of students wanting to experience teaching in regional and rural areas, as well as successful ACU-led initiatives and new partnership programs.

"ACU and our students themselves recognise the importance of having placements in regional, rural, and remote areas, which aligns with our mission to educate pre-service teachers who are ready to serve communities most in need," Professor King said.

"We have established successful partnerships with local communities, departments of education, schools, and Catholic dioceses across the country to boost these numbers."

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