REBECCA Boughey’s school journey has been unique.
She attended school, but wasn’t quite into it. She had a desire to find that ’something’ that would capture her attention, but struggled to engage with the school curriculum.
Rebecca doubted if school was for her.
This was until Bec started to work with Pakenham Secondary College VCAL teacher Laura Henderson, who guided her to find her mojo. Ms Henderson helped Bec discover and explore what she loved doing and follow her interests with a passion. And that she did in a big way. So much so that in June this year Bec was awarded the prestigious VCAL Student Achievement Award – Intermediate Personal Development Skills. A terrific result for dedicating time and effort to doing what she loves most: working with young people and helping animals.
Bec demonstrated great organisation and leadership skills with two key projects she managed.
The first involved a community project for Stella Maris Seafarer’s Centre and Artopia Gallery. Not only was she leading the year-long project’s beautiful mosaic creation, Bec employed a range of strategies to keep the Year 7 students on the project engaged and on task, while documenting the journey on video. The result was a beautiful piece of artwork – which is now permanently displayed at the centre’s main hall – and a three-minute documentary sharing the journey.
The second project was a result of an inspirational presentation by the president of the Australian Wildlife Assistance Rescue and Education (AWARE). Bec wanted to help in the form of raising funds for the organisation and so got to work with other students at the school to create craft items that were sustainable, affordable and easy to make. Dealing with the Berwick Market management, Bec secured a stand and as a part of a team, managed to raise over $300 from sale proceeds.
“I thought school wasn’t for me and then by focussing on what I loved, I realised I really loved it. I was always busy and as part of my VCAL program I liked working with the community outside of school one day a week.“
Bec is now completing her schooling while also studying her Certificate III in Childcare.
