Taree’s Leteah Mitchell admits she’s “a little nervous and overwhelmed” ahead of the NSW Training Awards on Thursday night.
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Following a whirlwind few months, it’s understandable.
Leteah’s rise to finalist of the State awards comes after she was nominated by staff at Taree TAFE in the category of Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander student of the year for the North Coast TAFE awards.
She subsequently won, announced at the North Coast awards dinner on June 24 at Byron Bay.
She then interviewed as a finalist for the State awards, with the winners to be announced on Thursday, September 8, at a glitzy Darling Harbour award night.
Leteah, 19, said that while she had been nervous ahead of the State interviews, the actual process was “laid-back” and went well.
Leteah, who completed a diploma of community services at Taree TAFE and currently studies a Bachelor of social work at Port Macquarie CSU, said she doesn’t really know if she sees herself as a leader.
But she enthusiastically agreed that the award nominations had opened her eyes to the opportunities available by studying locally.
“Don’t let people limit what you can do, because you can do more than you think,” she offered as advice.
If Leteah is successful on Thursday night, she’ll then go into the running for the national award, which will be announced in November at a presentation at Darwin.
Leteah said that potentially being recognised at a national level was something she “never would have imagined”.
Leteah made it to State level alongside fellow Taree student Katie Hall, 18, who studied a certificate three in tourism and certificate two in aviation and ground handling while completing her HSC at Taree High last year.
Katie and Leteah are also the face of Taree TAFE’s 4000 students, with their images and stories appearing on radio and video campaigns for the institution.
Ahead of their State interviews, Taree TAFE’s Lyn Connors paid tribute to both women, calling them “inspirational ladies of an incredible calibre”.
“They’re inspirational young ladies and high achievers, but they’re really hard workers as well.”