Deena Harding

Following is a letter that we received from a past student Deena Harding who shared with Mr Papas part of her journey during and and after leaving Mornington Secondary College.

"Dear Mr J Papas,

Around a decade ago you had a rather unruly group of students in the VCE cohort, I believe it was the class of 2007. I was one of the ones who had frequent trips to the chairs outside your office. Why I thought smoking in the girls toilets was sneaky and that no one would ever know, is beyond me. My life then was undeniably a roller coaster of a train wreck and would continue to be for a long time to come. Several years later I took a trip into the school to say hello and to this day I remember the shock and surprise on your face when I said I was aiming to become a veterinarian. I can still hear you saying "Who would have thought?!".

It was a very long and challenging road from not completing VCE to where I am now. In 2010 I finally gained employment as a trainee veterinary nurse and over the next 7 years of nursing (while also studying) I grew into a highly competent emergency and critical care nurse charged with sole nursing care of advanced critical patients. I completed the Cert IV in Veterinary Nursing through TAFE in record time to apply for an undergraduate science degree through La Trobe University where I maintained a high average and was subsequently offered entrance to Veterinary Medicine from universities in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. I took the trip to Perth and last year graduated with a Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery and a few letters to add to my name. I then took an extended break from the industry and as of last week, accepted my first position as a veterinarian back in Victoria.

I wanted to let you know a few things by writing this. These degrees were very tough, not just academically, but psychologically and I wanted to quit more times than I can remember. During the sixth year, especially toward the end and when I thought I wouldn't possibly be able to finish it, is when I started thinking of you. I do not envy you your job in the slightest. It must be very difficult constantly managing teenagers (some more poorly behaved than others) but the passion you showed for simply wanting the best for your students welfare regardless of their background or blatant disregard for their own welfare is something that has stuck with me to this day. You didn't give up on me, even when I had already given up on myself. As an adult, I didn't want to do that again. So I borrowed a little of your determination at times to get me through.

I mainly wanted to convey my sincere gratitude, a heartfelt thank you, for everything you did for me, and for the positive and lasting influence you have had on my life. I wanted you to know that it wasn't wasted effort and that I will always be grateful for the lessons in discipline, perseverance and mostly for the feeling that despite how bleak my future looked then, I at least had one person who believed I could make it to be something different.

I hope that you have been well and that the students have not invented too many new ways of giving you a hard time.

It's never too late to dare to dream... thank you, for everything.

Dr Deena Harding

BSc BVMS

Dates to Remember

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