In Principio August 2017

CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL STATUS QUO To say that former Notre Dame student, Caitlin Collins, took on something of a challenge at the recent State elections inWestern Australia is something of an understatement. The opportunity to stand for the blue- ribbon seat for Cottesloe – against former Premier Colin Barnett – was a once in a lifetime experience. BACHELOR OF ARTS (HISTORY, POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS) (2010) SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES, FREMANTLE I graduated fromNotre Damewith a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in History, Politics & International Relations. During my degree, I had the incredible opportunity to study abroad in Spain, as well as Ireland, where I worked as a political intern in Parliament House in Dublin. After completing my Honours in 2010, and not knowing exactly what career path I wanted to take, I decided to travel through India and South America. I worked as an English teacher in Colombia then moved to Vietnam where I taught in schools and universities for a year. I eventuallymovedbacktoPerthtocompleteaGraduateDiploma of Education. Teaching Australian politics reignitedmy interest in the subject I had been so passionate about at university and I developed a strong desire to actively participate in the political process. What better way to do this than to run against our former Premier for the Seat of Cottesloe. As the Labor candidate in a blue-ribbon seat, I did my best to challenge the political status quo. The campaign was truly an exhilarating experience that taught me a lot about myself and my community. Despite the defeat, I plan to stay involved in politics and hope to startmy PhD at Notre Dame next year. A DEGREE FOR TEACHING, AND FOR LIFE When Daisy Turnbull-Brown decided to work towards a Master’s degree inTheology at Notre Dame it was essentially with a view to enhancing her skills as a teacher. Amajor bonus has been its value to her everyday life. GRADUATE DIPLOMA OF EDUCATION (SECONDARY) (2010) SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, SYDNEY MASTER OF ARTS (THEOLOGICAL STUDIES) (2016) SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY, SYDNEY The path that led me to Notre Dame was definitely not a straight one. I had studied Arts/Commerce at Sydney University and four years later wanted to retrain as a teacher. I looked at all the options for postgraduate teacher training courses and Notre Dame was one of the few that allowed out of office hours face-to-face study. I thought that learning in a classroom environment was an important part of becoming a teacher, andmy Notre Dame experience absolutely confirmed that. I was so impressed with the calibre of teachers across subject areas, many of whom were still working as teachers and could bring real world experience into their teaching. Once I started teaching, I was interested in training to teach Religious Education, but having just secured a Graduate Diploma, I thought it would be better to work towards a Master’s degree in Theology. This may have been insane on my part as my husband and I were about to have our first child, but again Notre Dame was fantastic in its flexibility. I started the course then took a leave of absence, then returned studying only two-three subjects a year. Throughout my study at Notre Dame I have been working as a teacher and this year have started teaching Studies of Religion at an independent school in Sydney. I am constantly astounded by how my Master’s subjects are useful for teaching, and for life. I really learned to critically assess my faith and ask many questions about theology, as well as answer a few of them as well. The most important part of my Notre Dame experience, however, has been the teachers. The professors and lecturers that ran each course did so by developing authentic relationships with their students, understanding their various academic needs and working with the students to ensure the best learning took place. A L U M N I U P D A T E I N P R I N C I P I O | 2 5

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