Secondary School,
Australian Capital Territory
We know we have a shortage of women in STEM careers but having a woman teaching Information Technology is also a rarity. I have such privilege in being a role model to the young women I work with in my classrooms. So many special teaching moments happen every day. It could be the "Ah ha!" moment when my students succeed at something they have been working on in programming or how they exclaim "Now I get it!" when they grasp a concept.
By far though, my favourite moments are when that student, who I may not have taught for a few years, runs to find me in the school to tell me they have been accepted into university to study IT because I was their teacher who inspired them. They send me their graduation pictures and email me to tell me that what they learnt in my class is now helping them in their careers and invite me to celebrate their successes.
This card was gifted to me by a student who had been part of my extracurricular IT club. She wanted to let me know she was becoming an engineer because I had inspired her to learn about robotics. It's not about the cards, it's about those special moments when students come back to share their joy with you in pursuing careers in STEM. I love my job.
