Focusing on the positives

From a young age, Lachlan Sibir has had a bird’s eye view of what it’s like to be a teacher. His mother, Lee, is a proud Aboriginal educator and school principal, giving Lachlan a rare insight into the pros and cons of the noble profession.

“Through my mum I’ve seen the teaching world from behind the scenes – the work taken home, the reports, the parent phone calls – and for a long time, it acted as a deterrent to me pursuing teaching as a profession,” he says.

At the same time, Lachlan always admired the role that teachers play in nurturing young minds. 

“My mum made a huge impact as a teacher and she has continued that as a principal, so I guess teaching is like many other professions – there are good and bad parts to it, and you can choose which parts you want to focus on.”

The good parts finally came into view for Lachlan when he was 17. Along with a small group of his peers at St Andrews College, a Catholic secondary school in Sydney’s west, he headed to Thailand to teach English to young students in the nation’s rural north.

Lachlan in Thailand, where he taught English to local students.

“It was an amazing experience,” says Lachlan, who graduated from high school in 2019. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but when I went to Thailand, I immediately thought, ‘This is a possible career for me’. I knew that I loved history, and when I discovered that I also liked teaching, it became an easy choice.”

Finding his feet

Lachlan went on to pursue a Bachelor of Education (Secondary)/Bachelor of Arts (Humanities) at ACU, graduating in 2023.

Although the bulk of his degree was through the tumultuous years of the pandemic, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience.

He benefitted from the support of ACU’s Yalbalinga Indigenous Higher Education Unit, the on-campus hub that provides a culturally safe space and promotes positive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity.

“Yalbalinga gave me a lot as an Indigenous student, but also just as an individual,” says Lachlan, a proud Kamilaroi man. “The mentorship and support were just awesome, and then there’s your peers – other Indigenous students who end up being close friends. I can’t emphasise enough all the experiences and opportunities it gave me.”

Lachlan took part in open day events for the First Peoples Directorate, competed alongside ACU students from all over Australia in UniSport’s Indigenous Nationals tournament, and met Pope Francis as a representative of the university.

Left image: Lachlan (left) with Theresa Ardler and fellow ACU student Ayman Hill. Right image: Lachlan (left) at the Indigenous Nationals.

He was also one of five students chosen to serve as an intern on ACU’s Game Changers project, a multi-faceted research program that aims to positively impact the lives of Indigenous youth, families and communities.

“I knew I wanted to pursue a research degree down the track, so I just saw it as a great opportunity,” says Lachlan, who was mentored by Professor Rhonda Craven and Dr Georgia Durmush from the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education.

“We learnt so much about different research methodologies, and we also worked closely with the Wonnarua people in the Hunter Valley, establishing community connections and working towards positive outcomes. It was an incredible experience.”

The luxury of options

Lachlan now juggles part-time teaching with a role as a research assistant at the University of Sydney, where he’s also studying for his honours in history.

His thesis research is focused on the Voice referendum, and the ways that history was used as a political tool during the campaign.

“My argument is essentially that history was a significant factor to why the vote was no,” he says. “It’s a history of now, which makes it quite difficult, but I know that in the end it’ll be worth it.”

Lachlan with his mother, Lee Sibir.

Thanks to all his hard work, Lachlan is now blessed with the luxury of options. He may decide to follow in his mother’s footsteps and put all his energy towards teaching, or he might choose a different path and focus on historical research.

“You can’t do it all, but knowing that I have options makes me excited to do whatever comes next,” he says, while offering some sound advice to others who are considering university study.

“Going through a degree is hard at times, but if you stick to it, you’ll get all the positive outcomes and options that come with it. My best advice is: Be like Nike – just do it.”

Want to give yourself options through university study? Find a course that’s right for you.

Learn more about ACU’s Indigenous Higher Education Units.