I moved to Australia in 2016 from Iraq and my journey at Clonard started in 2017 when I began in year 9 and graduated in 2020.
Clonard was a second home for me. It’s the place that helped me shape my personality and reach to where I am today. The teachers carry passion within them to come to school everyday and help build strong and independent women.
Now, every time Clonard comes to my mind, I get flashbacks about the events I attended, with my favourite being Brigidine day due to the variable activities available for us to participate in and get to know more about my classmates through these activities. Clonard has helped me make lifelong friends, those people who I used to hang out with during lunch time in the foyer to growing together and becoming mature and independent women who have chosen different pathways but stayed connected with one another.
After graduating from Clonard. I started studying Bachelor of Medical Imaging at Deakin University and I have recently graduated after four years of hard work and dedication to finally being offered a job position to work with the largest radiology provider in Australia.
I have started to slowly become more independent as I moved away from my family to live in Brisbane with my husband.
Moving to Australia when I was a teenager was extremely challenging. One of the most significant challenges I struggled with was language barriers which has led me feeling isolated at the beginning. However, I never lost faith in my abilities or gave up hope on my dreams. It is not limited to this, my family, teachers and friends played a significant role in supporting me mentally and academically and in finding the right pathway when life became tough.
Cultural differences was another issue that I have experienced which has impacted on the way I interacted with others in the beginning. Despite that, I was active to engage with others, open for new experiences and aware of my strengths and weaknesses.
I am very grateful to be taught by professional teachers at Clonard who did not only come to the classroom to carry out their responsibilities and leave. However, they came fully enthusiastic which inspired me to do my best and succeed.
