I joined the CEF Orange & District Committee in 2021 and have had the privilege of holding the position of Secretary since that time.

Having grown up in the Central West of New South Wales I have first hand experience of the challenges that face students from regional areas when they move to a city to begin their tertiary education and the joy that comes from returning to live, work and contribute in a regional community.

Amanda joined the CEF Orange & District Committee in 2024 as our treasurer. She has many connections in the country and values providing educational opportunities for all.

Post school training and education hold immense value for me due to its capacity to change the life of an individual and their families.

Building skills and knowledge beyond school ensures that a person can participate in the workforce with a meaningful job. The benefits of being employed can never be overstated and provide dignity and resources for any person.

Every local community requires skilled young people, and sometimes families need support from the local community to make this happen. There are many opportunities for trained young people in rural and regional areas and we need our school leavers to invest in training while they are still young.

We at Country Education Foundation of Orange and District can help you achieve this goal with the support of local councils, businesses and individuals who want to invest in your education.

I've been a member of CEF Orange for three years. I've been interested in young people and their aspirations as a teacher and consultant, as a mother and grandparent, as a lover of the arts, and avid reader and a dragon-boater. CEF is a very practical way to assist young people explore their futures. Meeting such a diverse range of talented, sensible, creative, socially aware individuals certainly gives me hope for the future, both theirs and mine.

I grew up in western NSW, attended the local high school and spent 35 years as a secondary school teacher. I have witnessed and experienced the transformative power of education, as well as the challenges facing young people from rural areas. I joined the Orange CEF to lend my support to local students who wish to further their education through university or TAFE courses which usually involves moving away from family and friends.

CEF provides both financial assistance and ongoing collegial support to these school leavers as they enter the next phase of their lives. This brings me great joy.

After growing up in Sydney suburbs, I have lived in rural NSW now for over 40 years, working for much of that time in various roles in education, encompassing infants, primary and secondary school teaching, plus teacher education at CSU. It wasn’t until I joined the staff at a central school in the Central West that I really became aware of how the tyranny of distance often effected school leavers and their choices for further education. School leavers who considered continuing with tertiary education were often faced with leaving their family and friends and had hefty costs for travel and accommodation, hence many chose not to.

Becoming a volunteer member of CEF was a fabulous opportunity for me to support such students. Eight years on, the students who Orange CEF support each year continue to impress at interview and truly demonstrate how education has the potential to truly change their lives, as they discover the many more options available.

Having been a former recipient of scholarships from the Country Education Foundation, I deeply value the significance of financial aid and mentoring in supporting our youth within rural and regional NSW to have access to the same career enhancing educational opportunities as their city counterparts.

I feel privileged to be a member of the local Orange and District Education Foundation, a fantastic community dedicated to fostering positive transformations through education for those living within the region.

As a young person growing up in Coonamble & Gilgandra, I can relate to the financial struggles associated with gaining a good education. As a Careers Adviser, I enjoy helping students reach their potential in gaining higher education through university or TAFE NSW pathways. I value the tremendous impact education has on communities and I am pleased to be a committee member of CEF Orange & District.