Rebecca’s a shining light

PAKENHAM’S Rebecca Nicolaidis is celebrating after being named Education Centre Gippsland’s (ECG) Pakenham campus Student of the Year.
Rebecca, 17, who completed a Certificate III in children’s services, was among 25 locals to receive awards at the first ECG graduation ceremony in Pakenham.
ECG chief executive officer Bernadette O’Connor said Rebecca Nicolaidis was a shining example of a young person who had turned her life around through adult education.
“She came to ECG after leaving school and home early and experiencing personal issues,” she said.
Ms O’Connor said initially, Rebecca did not settle well into study arriving late and sometimes not turning up at all. “Through support and her own ability to see that she could achieve, Rebecca became a role model student in our children’s services stream. She is also continuing her study at the diploma level and hopes to study a bachelor degree in the future to become an early childhood teacher.”