Dedicated Educator and Changemaker: The Inspiring Journey of Kendra Bruseker from Calgary to Oakhill College

From Calgary, Canada to Oakhill College, Australia is a big leap but for Kendra Bruseker it was a smooth transition, coming to her husband’s country after graduating in Social Studies back home. Fired by her grandfather’s political protests in Nazi-occupied Holland, and her father’s political career as a conservative member of parliament in Canada, she has a strong interest in modern history, public affairs, and settlement.

Kendra comes from a family of teachers, and after teaching at Mt. St Benedict’s College Pennant Hills in 2011, she found her present position in the Society and Culture subject at Oakhill.  For some years now, she has been Head of Society & Culture, Geography and Legal Studies, with 15-17 teachers in her faculty. As she says, her area of expertise takes in several studies and she had to come up to speed in some areas.

During the interim, Kendra took time off, and  has brought up two daughters, 8 and 6 years of age.

At Oakhill College, she has appreciated the values exhibited in being in a society where one contributes. There was a lot of learning about Australian education for her. She has a strong belief that “there is always the opportunity for people to grow, whether you are an adult or student.”

Kendra organises and facilitates professional development for her fellow teachers which is highly valued, says the College social media website. There is adjunct work as well with Years 9,10 and 11 gifted and talented students looking at philosophy and ethics applied to society today.

The urge to explore and grow led Kendra to be involved in teacher education in and beyond the College in the Society and Culture Association of NSW. She presents on skills and leadership in her area of expertise to learning teachers and mentors their development. This has taken in a range of content areas such as HSC depth studies in Popular Culture, and Conformity & Non-Conformity. Her professional Association singles her out as a dedicated and vitally-involved Committee Member, and over the last three years an effective Secretary. In addition, she lectures at university level in the education faculty for undergraduates and masters’ courses.

Kendra’s wealth of knowledge, broad activities and passion for education resulted in her being the recipient of the Professional Service Award of the Professional Teachers Council NSW in 2023.

Source: Br Gary Wilson, Creative Writer