That was the message from Aunty Pam Griffin on her retirement, having worked for 20 years to improve educational and employment services for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

A celebration at Wodonga TAFE was attended by many of those whose lives were changed for the better by Aunty Pam.

She said she could see many success stories in the room, including a past student who had completed her doctorate at university and others who worked in the health sector.

“Because of our history I have realised education is the only way to empower people, to give them choices and a good quality of life, that’s what has inspired me,” Aunty Pam said.

“It’s been a rocky road, but we have had a lot of successes with people who I now see as community leaders and in good jobs, so I feel very proud of that and I feel like it’s been worth the effort.”

Aunty Pam has worked to enrol ATSI students, develop and promote the curriculum and support students through courses at Wodonga TAFE.

She was also a founding member of the Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation, which provides a range of services for indigenous people on the Border, established a Koori unit at Wodonga TAFE and was the TAFE’s first Aboriginal Liaison Officer.

Wodonga TAFE chief executive Bryan Blake said Aunty Pam had had a “phenomenal impact”.

“Aunty Pam as an elder in the community is just inspirational to the students, not only her knowledge, but also broader issues,” he said.

“She has been instrumental in getting us engaged with the community and achieving some really good results in the past couple of years with the number of Aboriginal people doing programs with Wodonga TAFE, we are up to 285 students this year.”

With the assistance of Aunty Pam, ATSI student enrolment numbers were up by 30 per cent at Wodonga TAFE this year.

The TAFE also had 18 ATSI students graduate with a diploma of community services, the largest ATSI group to graduate from that course.

She said even at 75, her retirement wouldn’t be a quiet one.

“My good friend and I have won a contract with Poland to provide a minimum of 25 paintings a year for their Australian Polish cultural gallery.

“And we’ve also got a space at Yackandandah Station, we have a corner there to be artists in residence, so we are still going to be very busy.”