Mary-Louise Limbrey says she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. Yet, unlike the majority of education students who enrol at university straight after leaving high school, Limbrey gained a BA in Media and Communications, then worked and travelled for five years before committing to the profession.
Last year she returned to University of New South Wales to complete a Graduate Diploma in Education, gaining a Distinction average.
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"I loved school as a student and always aspired to be like some of the great teachers I had growing up," Limbrey, a geography and society and culture teacher, says. "However, as a fresh-faced 17-year-old submitting university preferences halfway through year 12, I wasn't quite sure about the idea of finishing school, to go to uni, to go back to school again." Limbrey says she wanted to see what life was like in the "big, wide world" and was attracted to the idea of working in the media /music/entertainment industries. After completing a BA (Media and Communications) at UNSW, Limbrey travelled overseas. Returning to Australia she worked as an advertising executive, followed by five years in digital marketing for Opera Australia and then YHA Australia.
"While I was challenged and gained valuable skills and experience in my digital marketing career, I could not seem to shake the desire to one day be a teacher," she says.
Limbrey says her time at YHA Australia reminded her of the importance of education through travel, and as an aspiring geography teacher, she reached a point where the time was right to make the switch to teaching.
"As a new graduate, I am excited for my future as a teacher and my aim is to facilitate engaging learning experiences through a diverse range of resources and teaching strategies, instilling in students a love of lifelong learning," she says. "I now feel ready and confident to be the teacher I always wanted to be and know I will be able to draw on both my professional and life experience throughout my teaching career." Limbrey says teaching appeals because every day is different. "Variety makes for an always interesting, often challenging and never boring daily routine and this is definitely one aspect of the profession that I'm excited about," she says.
Limbrey says she experiences great satisfaction when making a difference in the lives of students. "Most of all I enjoy seeing students engage with content and what they're learning," she says. "There is nothing better than the look on a student's face when they realise they have achieved something." To any other professionals considering a mid-career change into teaching, Limbrey says be prepared to work hard. "Life as a teacher goes well beyond the classroom and is not confined to 9am-3pm for four terms of the year," she says.
The best teachers, she says, are authentic, approachable and passionate.
