The last couple of years of school are exciting and challenging at the best of times – and the class of 2021 had to deal with the pandemic and the move to online learning.

In this series of profiles, Canberra Daily speaks to class of 2021 graduates who excelled despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Hannah Holford (Lake Tuggeranong College)

“The only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do was be in the caring industry,” says Hannah Holford – and her passion and compassion have made her the Australian School-based Apprentice / Trainee of the Year.

“Aged care was not an easy industry to get into, but it is really rewarding, even if it’s a bit of hard work, at times.”

During the pandemic, Hannah completed her Certificate III in Individual Support, working at Baptist Care Carey Gardens, while studying at Lake Tuggeranong College. She graduated with both a VET and an ATAR.

Getting the award felt great, Hannah said. “It’s really nice to acknowledge all the hard work and the support system that I had around me.”

Her next plans are to study at the University of Canberra, then go into occupational therapy when she graduates.

“My apprenticeship showed me that I really love the caring industry,” Hannah said. “It’s so versatile; you can work with children, [seniors], or with people with learning difficulties or a stroke.”

Hannah was lucky to get into her placement before lockdown. “A lot of students couldn’t finish their apprenticeships, but I got to,” she said.

Working in aged care during the pandemic was like being “thrown in the deep end”, Hannah said – “pretty intense”. No visitors were allowed, and only the carers and the backbone workers were present. A lot of the elderly residents declined, physically and mentally, because they didn’t have visitors.

“I pretty much became a full-time carer, except for computer work and meds,” she said.

Those aspects were confronting for a 16-year-old, as Hannah was when she began. But she learnt about working with people in difficult circumstances, as well as computer and paperwork.

“It prepared me for going into studying OT,” she said. “It really gave me a real confidence that I could pull it off. I’m pretty passionate about the caring industry, and how you can do so many different roles within it.”

Doing an apprenticeship and ATAR at the same time were another challenge, Hannah said.

“I had to move schools, because I went to a few different schools, and they wouldn’t let me do both, because they like you to focus on one or the other. But I wanted to keep my options open for university, and I didn’t know enough about my apprenticeship to put all my balls in one box.”

Fortunately, her school, Lake Tuggeranong, were open to letting her do both. The study package was ‘really beneficial’, Hannah said.

“You graduate with your ATAR and a part-time job and qualification, and an understanding of the industry you’re going into.” Although she had to manage time and juggle commitments, “it was really, really worth it in the end”.

Schooling during the pandemic was “a bit weird”, Hannah found: “A good experience, but tricky to go through twice,” in both Years 11 and 12.

“In a sense, you already felt like you’re at university, because you didn’t really have much contact with your teachers. All the work was posted online, and our school tried hard to keep us in the loop. But because of my work in aged care, I was pretty much working full time!

“But it prepares you for going to university, where you’re going to be working a lot more, and trying to balance watching your lectures online and keeping in contact with your teachers.”

To any students beginning their last two years of school, Hannah admits that she didn’t feel ready going into college – “But you really do step up and adapt. Even if you have to make some sacrifices, or if you’re told no and you have to approach it in different ways, it’s always worth it when you put in the hard work and effort.”

Learning to build a support system and use the resources available in college helped her.

“Hopefully, they don’t have any more lockdowns, but if they do, they’ll be able to adapt and be resilient.

“We heard the word resilience a lot, and it sort of became a joke, but a lot of my classmates who did well, did have to have a bit of resilience and commitment to what you’re trying to finish.”