SCHOOL done and quite new to the southern Riverina, Hannah Daniell wasn’t quite sure what direction she wished to head.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Working in a bakery, studying to be a teacher and community volunteering all played their part until a Greater Hume Shire staff member approached her.
“She asked if I wanted to do a traineeship in the library, I said yes, and since then everything’s snowballed,” Miss Daniell said.
Now 21 and living on a property near Culcairn, Miss Daniell enjoys her Greater Hume role’s flexibility and diversity – traits not unfamiliar to someone whose education contained similar variety.
“My father’s a contract harvester, so we would travel around different country towns in NSW,” she said.
“My sister and I were both home schooled so we could easily move around and have that lifestyle.”
Miss Daniell started home schooling after five years at school that saw her struggle to learn and fall two years behind academically.
However over six years of home schooling she managed to catch up this shortfall and returned to school to do year 12 in Toowoomba with her peers.
“It’s not for everyone, when you’re home schooling you have to be self-disciplined,” she said.
“It was good for your self-esteem too.”
Last month Miss Daniell received a scholarship through the Sarina Russo Job Access group to do a Diploma of Youth Leadership and Management.
“It’s been amazing, my award has really just been a part of my educational journey, I suppose,” Miss Daniell said. “It has been in sync with everything that I’ve been working towards, especially with project planning and events management.”
She also appreciated being a finalist in the 2017 NSW Riverina Training Awards trainee of the year.
“To recognise other people’s achievements, that were around my age and even younger and still in school, was really impressive and very motivating too,” she said.
Greater Hume general manager Steven Pinnuck said Miss Daniell began with the shire as a trainee in library and youth services a couple of years ago.
“Almost from the day she started, we realised she had a lot of potential in this area, with her communication skills, particularly her ability to communicate with younger people,” he said.
As well as key roles in shire libraries, she has worked with other staff to develop school holiday activities and other youth events.
“She has been a great employee to have in and about the office and council activities in general,” Mr Pinnuck said.
