January 24 - 30, 2024
Pursuing a fulfilling career in teaching
◆ RURAL TEACHERS: Anna Hedstrom and Finn Pederson have decided to move to Beechworth after completing CEP’s Teach Rural program. PHOTOS: Chloe Jaenicke
RECENT graduate teachers, Anna Hedstrom and Finn Pederson were inspired by their time in CEP’s Teach Rural program to move to Beechworth and teach at Beechworth Secondary College. Ms Hedstrom and Mr Pederson have lived in many cities including Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Stockholm and said they are excited to explore somewhere different after completing their masters last December. “A city is a city and what’s unique about working here is that you’re pushed out of your comfort zone and forced to do different kinds of activities,” Ms Hedstrom.
They decided to move to Beechworth after spending time in Tallangatta on their Teach Rural placement as it gave them a taste of the benefits of living rurally. Mr Pederson said he initially took part in the Teach Rural program due to travelling between Melbourne and his family farm in regional Victoria. “I’ve always wanted to have an extension of that kind of living, because I always preferred living on the rural side than the
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VET CORNER
TOOL TALK
GONE E FISHING NG
with DIANA
with O&K VETS
with MICHAEL
with ROB
By CHLOE JAENICKE
Melbourne side,” he said. He said they were pleasantly surprised by the lifestyle change and how welcome they were made to feel in a rural town. “One thing, friends who aren’t doing teaching but live in Melbourne and grew up in Melbourne, kind of worry about is if you’ll feel isolated in a country town,” he said. “I think it’s the opposite because in Melbourne you feel your connected to everything but you’re not, you’re kind of in your bubble but when you’re in a country town you’re not isolated from a caring community, you’re not isolated from the nature, you’re not isolated from a fulfilling job.”
While they have found a lot of differences between the city and rural areas, Mr Pederson said there are also quite a few similarities. “Once you’re in a rural town or rural community it doesn’t feel that different to being in Melbourne but on paper it feels like it’s going to be this huge change,” he said. “People in the city think Wangaratta is the wild west but you’ve just got to go out there and see that there’s a Zambreros there so it’s not too far.” Ms Hedstrom agreed with this sentiment and also said the placements in rural towns offer better work life balance than those in the city.
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