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Education lecturer recognised with national award

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

21 November 2022

Congratulations to our education support lecturer Holly Gudsell for winning the Educational Leader Award at TAFE Directors Australia's (TDA) inaugural TAFE Staff Recognition Awards. 

The national awards, presented on 15 November at the Hilton Adelaide, recognise leaders who have advanced education and training practices to achieve positive outcomes for their students. 

Holly was recognised for her work on the Aboriginal and Islander Education Officer (AIEO) program, a joint initiative between the Department of Education WA and North Metropolitan TAFE (NMTAFE) that aims to upskill AIEOs across Perth Metropolitan schools with a Certificate III or IV in Education Support (AIEO)"  

Holly said it was an honour to be recognised for the success of the AIEO program that was run as a pilot program in 2021.  

 “I was blown away by the other finalist's and the work they are doing at TAFEs and Universities across Australia, so to be sharing a stage with them, was incredibly humbling,” she said. 

“I felt like such a winner already having been selected as a finalist, so to win was quite unbelievable. This will be an experience I will never forget, a true career highlight!” 

Holly started her career at NMTAFE as a Portfolio Administration Co-ordinator while she was completing her teaching degree at university.  

After graduating, Holly left NMTAFE to start her career as a primary school teacher which took her to China, Africa and the Kimberley. Arriving back in Perth, Holly returned to NMTAFE, this time as a lecturer in education.  

It wasn't long before her skills in Aboriginal education were recognised, and she was asked to be the head lecturer in a new initiative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students studying the AIEO program in 2021.  

NMTAFE Director, Media and Education, Lawry Hill said Holly was an engaging and inspiring lecturer well deserving of the accolade. 

“Holly was critical to the success of the AIEO program and her enthusiasm for working with Aboriginal people and ability to utilise multiple strategies to support engagement by the students was vital to its success,” he said. 

“From using regular newsletters to create a sense of community amongst the participants to personal one-on-one sessions that enabled students to tell the story of their experience as part of a strategy she called “assessment yarning”, Holly was innovative, enthusiastic, and thoroughly deserving of her national award as an educational leader." 

You can read more about the awards here(opens in a new tab)

If you would like to study education at NMTAFE applications are now open for 2023. Find out more. (opens in a new tab)