Dianne Ferguson (centre) with former students and current CSC staff Fran Redman and Carlie Ross-Soden.
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Owen Sinclair
A leading light of the community has been formally recognised for four decades of inspiring the next generation.
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Cobram Secondary College assistant principal Dianne Ferguson has reached the milestone of 40 years in teaching and education, most of which she has spent in Cobram.
It means that she now works with many of her former students, including Carlie Ross-Soden and Fran Redman.
A highlight of Dianne’s steady career has been the chance to make a difference in the lives of the young people she teaches.
“Our kids are our future, so we have to invest in them,” she said.
“I think it’s really important that you can make a difference to them. And it doesn’t matter how big or small. But they matter. And so if you give them that, they’ll give it back.”
Dianne received formal recognition for her years of service at a function in Melbourne on Sunday, May 18.
Born and raised in Gippsland, Dianne was educated in Melbourne and landed her first teaching post at Wycheproof P-12 College in the state’s west.
To this day, she maintains a connection with at least one of the students she taught during her first year there.
“And I love hearing what they’re doing, and you know because obviously, I made a connection with that person. And that just always reminds me that we can make a difference,” she said.
Returning to Australia after time overseas, Dianne soon found herself taking up a post at Cobram Secondary College in 1989.
For the next several years, she taught students a range of subjects, including legal studies, business management, and industry and enterprise. In 2007, she stepped into the role of assistant principal — a position she’s held ever since.
“You don’t think about it, 40 years — that’s gone quickly for me,” she said.
“If you’re happy in the workplace, and the workplace makes you happy, then it doesn’t seem like it’s 40 years, or that it’s work.”
Besides, Dianne, 64, said she’s still learning all the time.
Dianne with Education Minister Ben Carroll. Photo: CSC.
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Contributed
“There are some young staff here who can teach me how to do things on AI and all of that kind of stuff,” she said.
“So even though I’m a teacher here, I’m still a learner.”
Her two sons, Tim and Ricky, have also taken after their mum and pursued careers in teaching.
With about 36 years teaching at the college, she considers herself fortunate enough to have taught the parents of many of the college’s current students.
“It doesn’t matter what they’re doing. If they’re happy, and feeling like they’re successful and achieved something, that’s great. And if I’ve had even a tiny, tiny little bit of that — then, you know, I’m really proud of them,” Dianne said.
She doesn’t have any plans to take a step back from her leadership responsibilities any time soon.
“If I thought I wasn’t contributing in any way to them, then it’s time to stop,” she said.
“You have to do things [in life] while you can. But, then, I really love coming to work.”
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