Introduction to our new TIC - Mrs Jan Kershaw

I am extremely excited about joining St Bede’s College as the new Careers Advisor, for the last three years I have held the position of HOD Food Technology at Rolleston College.

I grew up in Southland and spent much of my time between Invercargill and Central Otago, which remains one of my favourite destinations. I have held down various teaching position in Dunedin, Timaru, Tauranga and Christchurch. I trained as a Primary Teacher at the Dunedin College of Education, and while there I completed a double degree in Food Science/Marketing and Education. I probably need to come clean at this point and say I am a true Highlanders fan!

Recently I finished my Masters degree at Canterbury and two years ago decided to undertake part-time study to complete a Diploma in Careers Guidance in order to move into the area of careers education. I see this area as an exciting yet challenging position, assisting students in finding a fulfilling pathway upon leaving school. At the moment, I am working on getting a careers website up and running, so all students have easy access to information about careers events, employment opportunities, recent careers news and resource information, such as how to write a CV and covering letter. I will also be posting information about scholarships and halls of residence applications in the school newsletter.

In my spare time, I enjoy recycling old furniture, travelling, cake decorating and having people over for dinner. Recently I organised a school cooking tour to France and Italy, where we attended cooking schools in Paris, Rome and Florence.

I am really looking forward to working here at St Bede’s. Everyone has been friendly and welcoming, and I trust the students will feel free to engage with me about pursuing a career they can enjoy after the last school bell rings. Please feel free to pop in and see me, when we are all back at school.

Mrs Jan Kershaw
TIC - Careers Education & Guidance