A rewarding career in teaching starts with the right support.

At Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic Primary School, Mt Pritchard, two former scholarship recipients are now helping shape the next generation of students, after taking different pathways from university into the classroom.

Kai Straub and Sienna Rossi both completed the Sydney Catholic Schools Excellence in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Scholarship and now teach at Our Lady of Mt Carmel, where the support they received helped them make a confident transition into full-time teaching.

For Kai, having a knowledgeable and skilled mentor on site made the shift from student to full-time teacher far less daunting.

“It’s been really cool to have a mentor here because they know what the experience is like and they know what the parents are like,” he says. “Just to have someone on site, someone to go to, has been really beneficial.”

Working as a Learning Support Officer at the same school where he now teaches gave Kai a head start most graduates don’t get. He was already familiar with the students, staff and school community before stepping into his own classroom.

Balancing that part-time role with university and professional placements was demanding, but it taught him the organisation and resilience that now underpin his teaching.

“It was challenging. I was working part time while also studying, so it was really about being organised,” he says. “I think that kind of built me up for what teaching is like now.”

That experience also gave his Principal confidence in his ability before he graduated.

“I think having that faith that I was able to show in my part-time role… she entrusted me to take a class full time,” he says. “That was really rewarding.”

“Just seeing the kids’ faces every day and forming connections with them makes me keep coming back.”

For Sienna, the scholarship provided valuable financial breathing room while she completed her degree.

“It was a bit of a breath of relief,” she says. “It meant I could really focus on university and work, rather than worrying so much about the financial side of studying.”

Sienna, who now teaches Year 5, says being awarded the scholarship also felt like recognition of the effort she had already invested in her studies.

“It was quite affirming and validating,” she says. “At uni you often just see the mark and that’s it… so it was nice to be acknowledged for what I’d been doing.”

Now in her first full year of full-time teaching, Sienna is paying it forward by returning each year to speak with Year 12 students considering a career in education.

“Teaching is the most rewarding job you will get, watching these students grow even just from the beginning of the year to the end,” she says. “There’s no other job like that.”

The experiences of Sienna and Kai show the different pathways into teaching and the value of having support along the way.

Applications are now open for the 2026 Excellence in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Scholarship, which provides aspiring teachers with financial assistance, personalised mentoring and opportunities to connect with educators across Sydney Catholic Schools.