Hannah Campbell and some farm friends: “I was always passionate about agriculture, but I just didn’t have much experience with sheep or beef.”
Farm-raised and rural-school-educated, Hannah Campbell may not have needed an agricultural education, but her experience at Finley High School has prepared her for a satisfying career.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Today Ms Campbell, 28, is developing her own farm property in Gippsland, and also works as an overseer managing thousands of head of stock for another family.
Born and raised on a Blighty dairy farm, Ms Campbell had her own farm experiences, but her education at Finley broadened her perspective and gave her knowledge and skills in other commodities, which she is now putting to good use.
The daughter of Neil and Maree Campbell, Ms Campbell was an active student in the agriculture program throughout her secondary schooling, studied agriculture at HSC level and went on to complete an agricultural science degree at the Wagga campus of Charles Sturt University.
She completed her degree last year by remote learning as she had gained a job as an overseer on a large beef property in a picturesque part of Gippsland.
Ms Campbell believes her secondary school studies helped set her on her career path, and her degree helped her get the jobs she wanted.
Ms Campbell was full of praise for the two agriculture teachers, Robyn O’Leary and Gary Webb, and said it was clear they played a key role in the success of the Finley program.
It is only now, looking back, that she is able to gauge their extraordinary input into the program.
Hands-on learning: Finley High School agricultural students returning from the school paddocks after releasing their cattle; from left, Riley Kleinschmidt, Madison Kleinschmidt, Alanna Steel and Sophie Griffiths.
Photo by
Geoff Adams
“We would travel around the shows and run into other agricultural schools at places like Bendigo, Benalla, Wagga and of course Finley and Deniliquin, and we tended to take it for granted. We just assumed that everyone was doing this,” Ms Campbell said.
“When I got to university and told my friends, they thought I was joking when I told them our school had a cattle stud and a sheep stud. No-one would believe me.
“I think, looking back, I now realise how exceptional it was.
“For some of the trips to shows there were multiple nights and with 20 or 30 kids.
“Robyn and Gary gave up a lot of their weekends.”
Ms Campbell said the students learned a lot, not only in the classrooms and in the field, but in other ways that may not have been a part of the written curriculum.
“We learnt about networking, making contacts with other people in the industry, and people skills,” she said.
“We were just kids, but we had to learn about meeting new people, presenting yourself to people giving you a job.
“These are the things that help set you up for life and a future career.’’
This is fourth in a series about agriculture in secondary education. If you have any comments, please contact us via email at editor@countrynews.com.au or phone 5820 3229.
“There is currently low demand for formal agricultural education and training throughout Australia. This is despite the plethora of career opportunities in the agriculture sector and research suggesting that agricultural education and training is linked to increased productivity, profitability and innovation.”
– Victorian parliamentary inquiry into agricultural education and training, 2012.
Mansfield Secondary College offers agribusiness as an elective subject in Years 9 and 10.
The course establishes pathways for career options through the study of agscience, geography and economics, completing School Based Apprenticeships and TAFE Certificates and VCE and Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) programs in subsequent years.
Students attend local land management placements (primary producers, Landcare, Department of Primary Industries, Parks Victoria, veterinary clinics and related agribusiness industries) as well as have extended learning opportunities through excursions, such as attending and competing in agricultural field days.
