Deb Bowman thinks that to have successful educational outcomes a 'whole of life' approach to students must be addressed. Therefore she, Pam and Annette have constructed this site to address some parts of life which are usually not covered in the curriculum! Deb has been teaching in the Communication, Media and Music Department at Bruce campus for many years. She also teaches Landscape History and Museum practice. This range of subjects ensures she gets around the Institute! Deb is currently working part time as the CIT’s gender equity officer. Ring her on 620 73314. Ciao.

Annette Sharma has been involved in supporting migrant and international students at the Canberra Institute of Technology for 22 years. Starting out as an ESL teacher she became interested in exploring various other roles such as Academic Support Officer, Communication Teacher, Gender Equity Officer and her role currently as Migrant Coordinator and ACT Government Scholarship Coordinator at the Canberra Institute of Technology.

All areas have allowed her to gain insights into the issues that face students from other cultures and to appreciate the importance of understanding the social environment as well as the academic if students are to succeed.

She strongly believes that "we need to be committed to creating resources that will give students easy access to information that would otherwise be difficult to find. Students coming to our Institute to learn should have every opportunity to ensure that they are safe and supported in the process. Online resources provide privacy and a rich source of ideas and information for students to explore".

Pam Stagg teaches English as a Second Language to international students at CIT, Canberra. She has been doing this for the past 7 years, and in that time she has been involved with a lot of young women from overseas countries. As a result, Pam is very interested in and concerned about their lives in Australia. "It’s been a great pleasure and opportunity for me to contribute a little to this website, and I hope you’ll find some information here that helps to make your time in Australia better, safer and more enjoyable."

Shireen Manocha is a counselling psychologist at CIT. She is pretty down to earth and easy to talk to, and not too old and boring yet! Of course, you may need to decide that for yourself when you come and have a chat. You can see her about anything and everything; nothing is too big or small. It need not even be related to your studies at all although it can be. In fact most people who come and see her end up talking about really personal things and feel quite comfortable doing so.

Have fun, study hard, and please take good care of yourself!

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