Farm girl overcomes hardship to finish education degree

Financial grant helps Avondale student stay the course after death of both parents

Christine Miller, at only 28, is the head of her household, but not by choice.

The death of her father and mother within three years of each other meant Christine, along with her younger brother and sister, had to look after the family farm on which she grew up. “Dad died from fibrosis in the lungs and Mum from an epileptic seizure, so it was just my sister and I here for quite a while.” Their brother, who has autism, moved into full-time care, so Christine and her sister managed the land by themselves, but they didn’t find it easy. “There’s always something that breaks or has to be repaired. It never ends.”

Christine used the economic hardship grants she received from Avondale to tackle “the most present problems.” Replacing an ageing stovetop and a broken oven meant she could prepare hot meals faster and safer. Purchasing a box trailer—also using some of her own savings—helped her clear paddocks and cart a portable water tank and firefighting equipment. “The financial help has made a huge difference,” says Christine. “Without the grants, I’d still be doing things the hard way.”

With home life on the farm a little easier, Christine could focus on completing her study—a Master of Teaching (Secondary). She graduated this past year with good grades.

After graduation, Christine started working two to five days a week as a casual teacher in a New South Wales public school. She’s found already that her relationship with students brings the most joy. “It’s the people you meet,” she says. “They’d always come up to you as soon as you walked onto campus and want a good old chat.”

There have, of course, been challenges. “I knew there were going to be kids I couldn’t help, who had issues beyond my professional scope as a teacher.” She describes going home at the end of the day “knowing there was going to be not so much a responsibility for but an awareness of the problems and an inability to act” as a “sort of sadness.”

But living with her brother and working in school support units has brought a sensitivity to students with needs. “Some of them might have poor hygiene or toileting needs. I’m not bothered. I’ve seen that before. There’s no reason to treat them any differently.”

A realist, Christine understands “you can’t always help, but when you can, you do.”

Your help can enable other Avondale University College students, like Christine, overcome hardships—and focus on their study. “Everyone has pressures in their life, and especially this year, some people are under enormous strain,” says Christine. “I know when I received this grant, it helped me out of a difficult situation.”