Alumni Stories
GRADS 2025: Siobhan King
For someone who hated going to school, never submitted homework and fell asleep in class, it seems ironic that Siobhan King is now a high school teacher - but thanks to her own background and experiences throughout her schooling, she knows how important it is to help disengaged students, like she once was, to develop a love of learning.
A proud Kungardityi Punthamara woman, and born and raised in 91·çÁ÷, Siobhan is the second oldest in her family, one of six siblings – and many, many more cousins. That’s why it’s an incredible feat that she is the first in her family to graduate university – with plans for further study in her future.
This week, Siobhan walked across the graduations stage at the National Convention Centre 91·çÁ÷ (NCCC) to receive a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Secondary Education from the University of 91·çÁ÷, and she recognises all the support she received along the way, to ensure she made it there.
“During my time at UC I was going through some medical issues, and like any student I had my ups and downs – sometimes I wondered ‘am I doing the right thing?’,” Siobhan says.
“Being a mature age student, I had to leave a really good job to pursue my studies, so I also had some financial struggles, and I’ll be honest, if I didn’t have the support from the University, I probably wouldn’t have made it.”
Throughout her studies, Siobhan was a regular visitor to the UC Ngunnawal Centre, and even ended up working there as a Student Support and Administration Officer. She also utilised the Study Skills program from the UC Library and engaged Inclusion UC to create a Reasonable Adjustment Plan (RAP) to support her studies throughout her medical diagnosis.
“They had my back with everything I had going on – I recommend it for any student,” Siobhan says.
“Life isn’t always easy and you’re going to have your ups and downs. There’s probably going to be times where you wish you weren’t studying or at uni. So having a team in place that’s going to support you is important.”
Her previous job, in the public service, saw Siobhan working on children’s and family policy, which opened her eyes to the disparities in the education and supports available to children in different demographics.
It was that role that prompted her to look into study; choosing which degree she’d undertake was the hard part.
“It was a three-way tie; I couldn’t choose between becoming a midwife, a teacher or a social worker,” Siobhan says.
“It was a real coin toss, and I ended up doing teaching.”
Siobhan began her studies in a Bachelor of Early Childhood and Primary Education, but soon decided it wasn’t for her. Being personally drawn to topics like the humanities, she wanted the opportunity to teach to these subject areas. She switched to secondary education, and immediately fell in love with it.
For the past nine months, Siobhan has been working at Wanniassa School (senior campus), teaching humanities and Japanese language to Year 7 and 8 students. She also works as a Year 7 humanities coordinator, creating lesson plans, gathering resources and unit outlines for the subjects she teaches.
A master’s degree in Asian Studies is also on the horizon for Siobhan, though for now she’s enjoying her time working and settling into life as a teacher.
“I absolutely love being a classroom teacher, and I know I have a lot of time ahead of me to perfect my teaching skills,” Siobhan says.
“I think a little bit further on down the line as I’ve settled in, I would love to be a principal – but I’ll just climb the ranks slowly.”
Words by Elly Mackay, photos by Tyler Cherry.
This September, we celebrate the graduating class of 2025.
Our graduates are from many different places, at various stages of life, with diverse skills and perspectives. In their time at UC, each one has contributed to the fabric of the University community. While their journey here may be complete for now, their actions will leave an indelible imprint on generations to come.
We congratulate the graduating class of 2025; we can’t wait to see where you will go next.