When COVID disrupted Eden's career in beauty therapy, she turned to learning. From mental health and leadership to business and digital skills, she’s continued building the knowledge she needs for work, life and her future.

Eden was born and raised in Gunnedah, in the heart of the rich agricultural Liverpool Plains region. When COVID-19 hit, she was working as a beauty therapist and was unexpectedly forced to take a break from the work she had trained for and loved.

Eden worked as a checkout operator at her local Woolworths and tried her hand at the fast-paced environment of a local café before completing four years of study as part of her Beauty Therapy apprenticeship. But completing her apprenticeship didn’t mean Eden had finished learning.

Since first connecting with CCNI’s Gunnedah campus as a fresh-faced school-leaver, Eden has returned to training many times, completing short hospitality courses, First Aid, mental health workshops, leadership skills and Microsoft Excel training.

“The training at Community College has given me a broader understanding about businesses and business management, and it has made my knowledge a lot better about mental health, and helped me to gain different qualifications.”

Eden understands the impact adult education can have not only on her own life, but on the lives of others. Working as a beauty therapist, she came to appreciate some of the challenges faced by people living and working in rural and remote areas as clients shared details of their lives and difficulties with her.

Wanting to develop skills that could help her support her clients in a more holistic way, Eden completed the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program’s (RAMHP) Mental Health First Aid training. She also planned to continue developing her skills through further mental health training.

Eden’s learning has also been driven by another ambition — to one day open a small business of her own. She sees value in developing skills across areas including marketing, management and digital technology, giving her a broader foundation from which to build a business and make the most of online opportunities.

For Eden, education hasn’t been about following a single pathway. Instead, it has been about building on the skills she already has, responding to changes around her and preparing for where she wants to go next.

Her advice to others is to turn uncertainty into strength and empowerment by writing your own story through education.