From young dreamer to high achiever

09 January 2024

All Australian students should have an amazing road of learning ahead of them. But for students experiencing disadvantage, that journey can be harder than it is for other students. For Monique, a love of maths and science led her to dreaming her educational journey would lead to career in the medical field. But poverty was standing in the way of Monique reaching her potential.

Your generous support helped give Monique access to our out-of-school learning programs like Learning Club so she could have the same chance to keep up with her education as her classmates.

Monique says Learning Club helped her engage with her schoolwork and move closer to her post-school dreams. The program provided a space for Monique to go after school and focus on her homework. Receiving encouragement from trained volunteer tutors at Learning Club supported Monique to develop key academic and social skills, so she felt confident to participate more in class.

“I was going to Learning Club every week,” Monique explains.

“I really liked the people there: the tutors and the volunteers. They were so helpful with just encouraging you to sit down and do the homework. It was nice to have the support and the encouragement, that ‘yes, you can do this!’ I think it definitely helps with my confidence.”

Our Digital Learning Essentials program also helped connect Monique with free internet through Optus and the digital tools she needed to make the most of her education. Your support for the Digital Learning Essentials program means students like Monique can have reliable access to the internet to do research for school and complete online assignments. It helps to close the digital divide experienced by many children living with disadvantage.

“The internet in our area wasn’t always the fastest and sometimes it was prone to dropping out,” Monique recalls. “Without the Digital Learning Essentials program I would have struggled accessing information. It’s so vital that every student has access to the internet. If they don’t, students are getting left behind,” says Monique.

Thanks to your generosity, Digital Learning Essentials helps students like Monique overcome educational inequality caused by poverty and to access opportunities all students deserve. And Monique is taking every opportunity to fulfill her dream of working in the medical field.

Now, at 19 years old, Monique’s in her second year at university, studying a degree in health and medical sciences. Monique wants to be a leader in the field. And she’s determined to get there.

Monique says that for children living with disadvantage, your support helps students to reach their potential by “inspiring students to believe they can do things that others, or even themselves, may have told them they can’t do. So, thank you for your continued support to The Smith Family.”

From young dreamer to high achiever

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