CQUniversity staff have been volunteering their time as online chatroom mentors, working with students enrolled for the Learning for Life program offered by The Smith Family...

iTrack is an online mentoring program that focuses on the school-to-work transition. You can LINK HERE for an i-Track Fact Sheet

Clockwise from top left, Natasja, Carol, Kadie and Deborah are volunteers for iTrack

Senior Lecturer in Accounting at Mackay Campus, Dr Natasja Steenkamp says it's been rewarding to make a difference to a young person's life.

"You can influence their future in a positive way, helping them to believe in themselves and giving them hope," she said. "Being a mentor is teaching me to see and understand the world from a different perspective. Our role is to listen, care and guide."

Campus Coordinator/Lecturer Carol McPherson from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Noosa Campus says each student is carefully screened by the Smith Family and matched based on the profession and background of the mentor.

"I mentor via one hour chat per week through learning activities around discovering self and career planning to one student every 20 weeks," she says.

"Twenty weeks of sharing in the life of a student towards the development of a career pathway, especially from a low socio-economic background, is more rewarding than I could ever have imagined. These students demonstrate determination and tenacity and even through there is always some shyness or awkwardness, they do not fear obstacles and that's what makes it so exciting.

"I believe we have a strong obligation to our community to assist in career planning for school students and we (CQUniversity) need to have greater visibility in schools, often where the appropriate level of information is lacking."

Nursing lecturer Kadie Cheney from Rockhampton Campus says iTrack is a really worthwhile project.

"I looked forward to being invited again this year as I have had the opportunity to guide two students from families where they are the first to aspire to a tertiary learning program. The queries that we talk through are in relation to my passion - nursing - and I believe that I have helped to demystify the way forward for them.

"The Smith Family provides initial training and well-developed resource materials," she said. "It's a way of giving your wisdom and experience and providing another voice - who is not a parent or family member - to help the student talk about their way forward into a career. There's no personal details exchanged but the program helps to build the student's esteem and guides them with study and career choices."

Deborah Tunnicliff, a Business Development Manager with the Institute for Resource Industries & Sustainability at Mackay Campus, has also been volunteering for iTrack.

"Working with my student has helped me to rethink the things that are important to me about my job," she says.

"With my student, I have thought through all the 'subjects' I have learned over the years - from school and formal education, to those things I have learned from family and friends, and on the job, and then reflected on why I love doing what I do.

"It really is a win-win program to be involved with.  I went into this with a desire to ‘give back' to the community and perhaps to make a difference to a young person's life, the way that others have helped me over my life.  I didn't expect to actually benefit myself - but its been a great experience."

CQUniversity supports the The Smith Family through a partnership now coordinated by the Student Support Centre.