Fraser Coast’s Stacey Taplin is ready to step into her next classroom as a school teacher outside of Emerald in central Queensland.
Stacey graduated from the University of the Sunshine Coast with a Bachelor of Primary Education in September after four years of full-time study, but her pathway to teaching has not been straightforward.
“I finished high school back in 2005, and while most of my friends went straight to university, I decided to take a gap year and work in retail,” she said.
“That gap year turned into the belief that university wasn’t really for me. It felt too academic, too far removed from where I thought I belonged,” she told fellow graduates at a graduation ceremony at the Brolga Theatre and Convention Centre in Maryborough.
Instead, Stacey completed TAFE certificates and diplomas in events and hospitality and began working as an event planner in her family’s business.
After several years, she developed itchy feet and in 2015 became a travel agent planning dream holidays for others.
“I was thriving. I was meeting incredible people, travelling the world and building a career I loved. Then, like so many of us, my world shifted in 2020 when COVID arrived.”
Her role ended and she returned to the family gift delivery business, where she faced the next big decision: what next?
After a chat with UniSC’s Student Central team, Stacey applied to enrol in a bridging program called Tertiary Preparation Pathway, which allows students to brush up on study skills and knowledge and provides a pathway to a UniSC degree.
Her goal was to begin a Bachelor of Primary Education part time, but she ended up enrolling in full-time study, while continuing to work in the family business.
A year into her study she became a Student Ambassador representing UniSC at careers and tertiary expos, graduations, open days, webinars, orientations, and even at workshops for local high schools.
“I loved meeting and getting to know the future students of UniSC. More than that, it cemented for me that teaching was where I belonged,” Stacey said.
“I could plan to my heart’s content, then deliver those lessons and workshops, and instantly see how they landed — good or bad.”
She also participated in UniSC’s Coast to Country program which is available to undergraduate preservice teachers who have never lived or worked in a rural or remote location. It’s designed to enable them to experience life and teaching in a country area.
“I discovered that I’d love to teach at a school in a rural area. It allowed me a chance to visit many schools in Central Queensland over five days and meet and speak with principals from these schools,” she said.
Joining the program helped Stacey obtain a position at Blackwater State School as a specialist STEM teacher and her next role as a science teacher at a high school, north of Emerald in central Queensland.
Stacey reflected on her UniSC journey, as she prepares to move to Capella State High School in 2026.
“Were there times I wondered what on earth I was doing to myself? Absolutely. Would I change it? Not for a second,” she said.
“Because through this degree, I found my people. Classmates who became friends are now colleagues. And I learned what resilience, perseverance, and self-belief really mean.
“Most importantly, I discovered what I am capable of when I stop second-guessing and simply jump in.”
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