Teaching not just about learning

Alumnus makes a difference in the lives of his students

Neil Bustos is as passionate today about his work as on his first day at Kempsey Adventist School the year after graduating from Avondale. Ten years and four schools later, teaching maths is still the best job he’s had.

Completing a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching in 2010, Neil wanted to make a difference in children’s lives. This continues to motivate him. His adventurous spirit— snowboarding and climbing a volcano (that he then tobogganed down) in Chile—finds its way into the classroom and his lessons. Neil is head of the Maths Department on the Cessnock campus of St Philip’s Christian College.

Neil’s parents modelled this inclination to try new things. They immigrated from Chile 42 years ago with a five-year plan to work hard and head back home. But they fell in love with Australia and never permanently returned.

Nurtured in a Victorian Seventh-day Adventist community, Neil felt the lure of a smaller tertiary institution where he could be held accountable by lecturers. What he found at Avondale exceeded his expectations—the interest and care from academics such as Associate Professor Peter Kilgour benefited him. Neil now shows the same interest and care to the students he teaches.

Neil is engaged to fiancé Ally and lives in Newcastle. However, he continues to be amazed that he can go “pretty much anywhere in Australia” and reconnect with alumni of Avondale.

The Class of 2010 honours Neil Bustos for a love of teaching that makes a difference in the lives of his students.