Melissa’s story – A Thriving Futures Academy candidate

27 Apr 2021
Two women smiling at camera holding up a document between them

Melissa [right] pictured with fellow Academy candidate Nadia in Port Hedland, April 2021.

“The Academy sounds like an amazing opportunity and I am excited to be a part of this. I am really looking forward to learning new skills, working with children and watching them grow and develop.”

Meet our bubbly Academy candidate Melissa who joined the program in March 2021 after spotting an advertisement at the Port Hedland Careers Expo.

Originally from New Zealand, Melissa moved to Perth in 2008 and was working in mining before relocating to Port Hedland in 2016 after meeting her partner, “it was a big change from living in the city to living in a regional town but I love what Port Hedland has to offer.”

Some of her favourite things in Port Hedland include living near the ocean, the winter markets, the friendly community who make everyone feel welcome and not having to contend with peak hour traffic!

Melissa is a mum to two beautiful children – Lenny (3) and Lucy (2) and as a family, they love spending time outdoors, taking day trips to some of WA’s hidden gems, going to the beach, lakes and camping. You’ll also find them having lots of fun at local community toddler activities and Cooke Point Playgroup.

Melissa loves being part of her children’s development progress and being hands on with them – her experience being a mum has inspired her to take the next step and begin her journey into a career in Early Childhood Education & Care.

She also loves travelling and has been lucky enough to explore many places across Australia including trips to Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Tasmania and overseas to Bali, Thailand, Fiji, New Zealand, Langkawi with Nusa Lembongan being a favourite.

We are looking forward to Melissa joining us at the Thriving Futures Academy and supporting her through this exciting career change.

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Thriving Futures Academy

The Thriving Futures Academy is a work readiness program focused on cultivating, nurturing and developing a sustainable early learning workforce in the Thriving Futures regions.

Building on the success of the Thriving Futures project, the ACADEMY provides candidates an accelerated entry pathway into early learning and outside school hours’ care settings, resulting in more families accessing high quality care for their children.

thrivingfutures.org.au/academy