Great teachers inspire medallists
By Patricia Coulter
APRIL 2009
High achievers ... TJ Ryan recipients Kate Chambers and Taylor Redwood.
Great teachers and passion helped two outstanding Year 12 graduates win a TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and a $10,000 scholarship for their leadership qualities and academic excellence earlier this year.
Kate Chambers, formerly of Ferny Grove State High School in Brisbane, and Taylor Redwood, formerly of Sunshine Beach State High School, were among 10 medallists from the class of 2008.
Kate Chambers had always wanted to go overseas.
She was influenced by her parents' missionary friends who told her many stories of Egypt and India.
In 2007 she got her wish and travelled to India to prepare for her role as an ambassador for World Vision, investigating child labour and sex and human trafficking.
The stories she heard had a profound effect on her and gave her a passionate desire to go back to India and help.
'I met a 10-year-old boy, sold by his parents for the price of a cow to pay off debts,' Kate said.
'At six he was put to work in a sari factory, beaten regularly and after four years was still unable to pay off the debt.
'On another occasion an Indian woman put a very sick baby in my arms because she wanted me to help it.
'I couldn't do anything and it broke my heart to have to hand the baby back to the mother.'
Kate said World Vision believed the best way to help was to teach people skills.
'So I made the decision to study nursing and midwifery so I can go back to India to train women in these skills so they can look after themselves and their children,' she said.
'Last year as school captain and World Vision's Queensland Ambassador was a very big year.
'I couldn't have done it without the help of my teachers at Ferny Grove State High School, particularly my year co-ordinator Graham Reid and my principal Kaye Gardner.
'My parents also supported me, helping to keep everything in perspective and encouraging me to do my best.'
Kate is using her scholarship to study a Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Midwifery at the University of Queensland.
Taylor Redwood lives near the sea so it is not surprising he is a champion surf lifesaver.
However his passion is such that he has become the youngest patrol captain at Sunshine Beach.
'Being patrol captain has been one of the biggest influences in my life. It has given me a positive attitude because I enjoy coordinating others, saving lives and getting the most out of people,' Taylor said.
'My parents have also been a major influence ... and I don't like to be second best.
'My Year 6/7 teacher, Terry O'Brien at Sunshine Beach Primary School, really challenged me to do well.
'He taught me to love maths and problem-solving and in English he was the one who taught me to write well. He brought out the best in me.
'Because of my experience as a lifesaver, I thought I would like to be a doctor but I fainted on work experience while watching a biopsy.
'So then I decided to follow my love of problem-solving and use my TJ Ryan scholarship to study for a Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Queensland.'
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