Life beyond Radford
Stephanie Roberts ( Brewster )
- Bachelor Degree, The Australian National University, Arts
- Bachelor Degree, University of Canberra, Primary school education
- Classroom teacher, ACT Education Directorate, 2008-Present
What does life look for you now?
I'm a primary school teacher living in Canberra, married to a former Radford boy whom I didn't actually meet at Radford (Stuart, class of '94). We have two gorgeous little children and a senile cat. In my spare time I love to act in local theatre productions, play board games and drink red wine with friends.
Tell us what you are passionate about?
The Arts. Since having children I have been teaching part time and my role has been as a Music and Drama teacher. It is such a rewarding, exhausting and joyous job! I also love to act and have been fortunate to be a part of lots of productions in the years since I left Radford.
Do you have a particular role model or inspirational figure from Radford or now?
I've had wonderful bosses, friends, colleagues, directors, cast mates and students who have inspired me and taught me so much. At Radford there were a lot of wonderful teachers who made learning a joy and influenced my decision to become a teacher: Mr Foulcher, Mr Craddock, Mrs Fleetwood, Mr Huitker, Mr Masters, Mrs Rasmussen and Mr Pearsall to name only a few.
How easy was it to decide what to do in life?
In the end not that hard really but there were
definitely times of uncertainty and anxiety.
I enjoyed studying and learning and knew I wanted a job where I could try to make a difference in people's lives. I also wanted my career to involve creativity and variety and not require a lot of sitting still so teaching turned out to be a good fit.
Did your further study or career go exactly as you'd planned?
Yes and no. I'd considered primary school teaching on and off since I was about 5 years old so it wasn't a great surprise that I ended up there. It's not exactly what I was headed towards when I left school though. I initially stated an Arts/Law degree at ANU but I had no passion for Law and switched to a straight Arts degree after a year. It was a great decision for me and I LOVED those years. I only studied subjects I was excited about (History, English and Drama) and although it wasn't a vocational degree it enriched my life enormously. At the very end of my time at ANU I decided to enrol in a graduate entry Bachelor of Education.
