Media Release

On Thursday 5th March at our Lake Cargelligo TAFE NSW Campus, we held an International Women’s Day morning tea and had the honour of having three extraordinary and resilience women talk to students about their careers and challenges as a woman in the workforce and how things have changed for them over the years.
As an activity, staff and student painted a tree purple in remembrance of International Women’s Day. Students also took part in writing down and making a poster of what International Women’s Day means to them – they could do this anyway they wished.
Our Guest Speakers for the day were Alison Wheeler, Sharon Thorpe and Ami Yagnik.
Alison completed her Arts Degree in Sydney and decided to come out with her partner Adam to Lake Cargelligo. Adam acquired a job first. Alison did a lot of work with young mums (who had their babies with them) – mostly Aboriginal families.
She taught Numeracy and Literacy while on TAFE. Alison then went on to complete her Teaching Degree and taught at the Catholic school here in Lake as a casual teacher for ten plus years before heading to Queensland. After some time in Queensland, they headed back to Lake Cargelligo and once again she is teaching casually at St Francis Xavier Primary School hoping to retire soon.
Alison has a love of pottery and has her own little business. She is a mother of two beautiful daughters who live in Brisbane and is about to become a first-time grandma which she is excited about.
Sharon Thorpe:
Sharon started at St Francis Xavier Primary School as a Librarian before entering her role as a Teacher’s Aide. Sharon loves working with students with their Numeracy and Literacy. She loves being able to support the students in their learning. Sharon loves turning up to work each day and being greeted by the students. She said, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ami Yagnik:
Ami and her husband Raj came to Lake Cargelligo when their first child was 6 months old. They bought the supermarkets (IGA & Foodworks). Ami said, she is career driven however does find juggling a family a challenge – more with the guilt of not feeling like you are there for your children as often as you would like to be. Constantly juggling motherhood now with two children and work. She believes that women of all ages can have dreams and pursue them, age is not a limit.
Staff and students enjoyed having these wonderful women on campus to talk about their careers- the challenges and successes in their lives. It just goes to show that no matter who you are or where you are from or what your background is, if you believe in yourself and set yourself goals to achieve- you can be whatever or do whatever you want.
Media Release and Images from TAFE NSW – Lake Cargelligo Facebook page.