At a time when the media continues to question the quality of teachers being trained, a Central Queensland OP1 student has not only decided to enter the profession but also to study in her home town of Emerald.

Emerald State High School high achiever Kayci Reid will this week begin studying the Bachelor of Learning Management (Early Childhood) program at CQUniversity Emerald.

LINK to Lorna loves studying in Australia thanks to AusAID scholarship and Top choice for OP1 student in Gladstone

Kayci Reid begins her university program in Emerald this week with the hope of becoming a school teacher in the near future."I have always had a real love of children and teaching, so working in the field of education has always been an interest," said Kayci, who also believes that teaching is a very rewarding career.

"Working with children and helping to shape them into the people that they will one day become is such a rewarding opportunity. I think there is such significance about a teaching career and I have always respected others in that role."

Despite surprising many family and friends with the decision to be a teacher, Kayci said she had incredible support from people who respected and understood her interest in pursuing a career in education.

"I worked incredibly hard at school and always strived to attain results that would reflect that, and so, a lot of people were surprised to hear that I had chosen to study education. However, teaching is a career choice based on interest and not academic achievement, so getting a high OP was never going to affect my decision to study to be a teacher."

Kayci was also delighted to be able to study in her home town, and was overwhelmed by the support that came flooding in from her local university.

By achieving an OP1, Kayci became eligible for a full scholarship with CQUniversity thanks to a Vice-Chancellor's initiative to encourage high achieving students to stay in their home towns and study at their local university.

"I was completely over the moon and feel so blessed and fortunate to have received the scholarship. It relieves a huge financial burden knowing that the tuition debt won't weigh me down so heavily. I'm immensely grateful.

"In addition to the generous scholarship, studying through CQUniversity enables me to continue to work in Emerald without have to start afresh in a foreign town."