What is it about children that made you dedicate your career to educating them?

 I just have this connection, a special connection with them and they have with me. I love being around them and I love working with their families. And I have a passion for working with children. 

 How did you hear about the Fraser Foundation?

 It was through Tanya Porter, the Deputy-Director General for Early Childhood and it was through her I learned about the Fraser Foundation.

 What did receiving the scholarship mean to you?

 It's just been very, very helpful. And it helped me a lot in my finances, especially when I was doing placement, and I was away on study in Melbourne. I had to, I did the placement on Yam, but to do my study I had to travel to Thursday Island and then travel to Cairns and then Cairns to Melbourne. It was face to face study. I'll go and do a week intensive in Melbourne and then I'll come back and go to work here on Yam Island and then each month I go away for a week.

What has it been like being a mature student?

It's been very challenging. It's been especially with technology. Yeah, so I've had a lot to learn in the first couple of months and I'm still learning everything new each day. There are times that I want to chuck it in now and then I thought, no, I can do this. And yeah, it's been a challenge and it's been a learning curve for me as well.

Ten years ago, Annie started Strait Start, a model of early childhood parent education that’s unique in the Torres Strait, designed to provide access to families of young children to a prepared learning environment that encourages natural learning processes. 

Why did you start the Strait Start?

 I became involved in the program because I wanted to help young children and their families have access to early childhood education.  I wanted families to understand that the first five years of life are the most important years for learning and development.  

The program has not only grown and transformed into an early childhood education and care service but also the local educators in terms of undertaking further studies to upskill their knowledge and understanding in the workforce. It has been an incredible journey for everyone.

Its aim is to empower families and promote increased levels of social and emotional security, psychomotor development and language acquisition in young children prior to their enrolment in formal schooling. 

 I would like to encourage more families to access the service and I hope to see in the near future for educators to go from certificates to diplomas and finally to bachelor's degree. I believe the importance of having more indigenous educator so they can influence our first nation children and be good role models for them in the classroom and also in the community.  Children need to feel safe, children need to feel connected, children need to feel happy when children have all these they will have the love for learning.

What will having the degree besides an immense amount of pride, what will that do for you for your career?

I’m going to be a qualified teacher at the local school - Iama Migi Kaziw Mudh.

The Fraser Foundation is actively trying to support more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators, what do you think that would do for those populations?

At the moment we don't have as much Indigenous early educators or indigenous teachers. Most of the teachers are the ones that fly in and fly out. It would be so valuable, so to speak, for the community if there was more Indigenous educators or teachers. 

What does your family think about you doing your Bachelor degree in Early Education at Deaken University?

They're saying, ‘oh Mum, do it so others can see you. It's empowering not only us, but it's empowering the next generation, the young school leavers, and just people in general, regardless of the age.’ 

What would you say to anyone in your community who might be thinking about a similar career path? 

There are some women in the community that have their mind that they want to go and do further studies. But I think it's just about somebody going first and sort of checking it out and what's there and come back and sort of, ‘okay, this is what I've done and this is where I'm at and this is what I've achieved.’ If you're passionate about something, you’ve just got to go and do it.

As a proud Torres Strait Islander woman, I am shaping the future and minds of the next generations, I am not only teaching and influencing but I am also embedding a sense of pride in my culture and heritage.  I am doing this by sharing my knowledge and experiences from what I have learned from past and present elders and I hope this will create a more inclusive and equitable society that values diversity and respect for indigenous cultures.

It’s also interesting to note that Annie is one of three generations in her family to dedicate her career to early childhood learning.

My grandmother, Bethalia Lui, was the first kindergarten teacher in the Torres Strait back in the 60s. She's passed on but left that legacy behind. I want to continue her legacy, and my youngest daughter, she's in childcare as well. She loves working with children.

We’re so thrilled for Annie and we know she’ll continue to do such important early education work for Torres Strait Islander children, families and the broader community.