Our ACE students come leaps and bounds from day one of walking into class, all the way through to completion. Annie Healy is just one of these amazing graduates who remind us of the huge impact that taking that first step can make to a career and indeed to life. She kindly shares her story with us all.
“My upbringing was very difficult, and by the time I was an adult I could not read and write. But I have since completed a Literacy and Numeracy class, and I have progressed so much. My son has a disability, and I am his primary carer. He brings me a lot of joy, I love him dearly and he inspires me to make a better life for us both. I decided I would like to work in Age care, with a focus on disability. I joined the Individual Support program at ACE in Murwillumbah in 2024.
I learnt a lot of new things and I am much better on the computer than I was before I started. I often became anxious when things went wrong on the computer, and I couldn’t keep up with the rest of the class or the trainer. But I persisted and I had help from other students as well as LLN (language literacy numeracy) support organised by ACE. I made real progress in my education.
I have become much more confident and less fearful of learning new things. I can take these new skills with me to further my career. If anyone is in the same boat, I would say don’t give up, don’t let your fears rule you, learn from mistakes and don’t let negative thoughts get in your way. I overcame my barriers by never giving up, persisting and accepting the help that was offered to me.
I have now passed all the course work and completed my placement hours and I have casual work as a cleaner at Tweed Valley hospital. I can help my son much more because I have shown him that fear should not stop you from achieving in life.
I have got my first qualification, and I am an example to my children by being persistent and determined, showing them that you can achieve anything if you really want to. Who knows I might go on to further study in the future as learning is lifelong!”
