Oran Park Public School teacher Dannielle Roberts follows right path to dream job with support from Western Sydney University

AS a child growing up in Leumeah, Dannielle Roberts used to play school with her cousins and she would pretend to be the teacher.

Oran Park Public School teacher Dannielle Roberts is the first Western Sydney University graduate of the Pathways to Dreaming program.

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AS a child growing up in Leumeah, Dannielle Roberts used to play school with her cousins and she would pretend to be the teacher.

Little did she know at the time but this fun game was leading Ms Roberts to her future career path.

Now 24, Ms Roberts looks back fondly on that time of child’s play and is overjoyed that she is now a qualified primary school teacher who is in her second term of work at Oran Park Public School.

“It’s a great school and I love my students,’’ the Year 1 and 2 teacher said.

“To walk straight into this teaching opportunity right after university shows me that anything is possible and graduating is an example of that. Teaching was always my dream job.’’ Ms Roberts said growing up in a large family with six siblings also fostered her love of children and her passion for teaching.

One of Ms Roberts’ proudests moments arrived last month when she graduated with a Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching) degree from Western Sydney University.

Ms Roberts is the first graduate from the university to complete the Aboriginal assistance program, Pathways to Dreaming.

She is full of praise for the university and for the program which aims to connect students to their culture and heritage. Ms Roberts, whose great grandmother is Aboriginal, said the Pathways to Dreaming program was what helped her achieve her goals to become a teacher.

“I love working with children but I didn’t think I was good enough to go to university,’’ she said.

“It was just something I never thought I would be able to achieve.’’

Ms Roberts joined the program at age 16 while in Year 10 at Leumeah High School.

She left school in year 11 to work in childcare but kept in touch with the university’s manager of schools engagement, Anne McLean, and the Pathways to Dreaming team.

After working in childcare for a few years she said the Pathways to Dreaming program gave her the inspiration and confidence to go to university as a mature age student and study to become a teacher.

“I’m so thankful the team kept in touch with me and encouraged me to keep studying,’’ she said.

“I truly believe everything happens for a reason so if I never joined the program I would never have been able to become a teacher.’’

While at university, Ms Roberts became a Pathways to Dreaming mentor and guided high school students through the position she was once in.

“It was rewarding for me to see these students go through the program just like I did because I could be an example and talk with them about my university experience,’’ she said.

Ms Roberts said she hoped that by sharing her story it would inspire others to follow their dreams and show them that anything was possible.

There will be at least six more Pathways to Dreaming participants graduating this year. The program has been running for eight years.