Eddie Russell
Navigating the leap from primary school to high school can be terrifying, something that EdConnect volunteer Shirley Harsley understands better than most.
Ms Harsley spends her day off in Melton, at Wedge Park Primary and Kurunjang Secondary College, helping students make the transition.
She said volunteering in schools is part of her life-long goal to assist the next generation.
“I want to catch the ones that fall through the cracks if I can. If they don’t have the support that they need before [the transition] then later down the track it does affect them,” she said.
“There’s so many things that are new to them when they go to high school … so [I am] a friendly face there to settle them in and see how they are going.”
EdConnect Australia allocates and directs volunteers to local schools with young people who need mentoring or learning support.
Ms Harsley said more vulnerable students could be reached if additional schools engage with the EdConnect program.
“I’d like to see more schools involved. We assisted over 19,000 students across Australia last year and we are looking to increase that number.”
A counselling background, as well as a youth mental health accreditation, allows Ms Harsley to provide the students with the guidance they require.
“I offer support emotionally, academically, or whatever the child needs. I’m just like a big sister I suppose; someone to talk to,” she said.
The connection that grows with the students is one that runs deep, Ms Harsley said.
“One of the very first students I saw came back to the school after starting secondary school and asked the principal to tell me that he was okay and had settled in, which was really nice because you don’t really get a chance to say goodbye,” she said.
