Celebrating 40 years of NZTC: A Q&A with Trish Thomas

2022 marks New Zealand Tertiary College’s (NZTC) 40th anniversary. 40 years of empowering students to care, educate and serve meaningfully and effectively with comprehensive and professional programs.

As we celebrate this significant milestone throughout this year, we catch up with important people who have shaped the college into what it is today.

After 24 years at NZTC, our Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) Program Leader, Trish Thomas, has witnessed many college milestones. She shares below her motivation for working in the ECE sector, initiatives she has been part of and where she sees NZTC in the next 40 years.

When did your journey with NZTC begin and why?

I began as an Associate Teacher in the mid-90s. Then in 1998, I started lecturing part-time at the college – teaching night classes and visiting students in the sector. I was motivated to stay a part of the ECE sector and continue in a teacher-mentoring role. Eight years of experience in a range of early childhood services, a few years of adventurous OE, starting my postgraduate studies, and being a new parent, all contributed to my enthusiasm to be a lecturer at NZTC.

What has been the strongest motivator in your career path and what keeps you going?

We hear the phrase “the first 1000 days are the most important” being quoted a great deal at present, and I feel bemused by it in a way. I feel we, ‘ECE people’, have always known the early years are crucial and that ECE has a significant impact on society. Young children and how they develop, learn and relate to others fascinates me. I am also very interested and motivated by the role ECE and early childhood teachers have in the lives of families, whānau and communities, and therefore the advocacy role early childhood teachers have in Aotearoa, is my biggest motivator.

What are the biggest changes that you have seen at NZTC during the time you have been at the college?

NZTC has grown significantly in student numbers, qualifications, and international engagement over the past two decades. I believe strong partnerships in the education and health sectors, the effective use of technology, and a continued focus on leadership have enabled this. When I started at NZTC we were a small organisation that relied on classroom settings and student assessments written and recorded on paper. Technology has allowed us to reach more people and expand our resources significantly. What will NZTC be like in 20, 30 or 40 years from now – the mind boggles.

What ECE initiatives have you helped to implement over the years at NZTC? What are you most proud of?

Oh, this is a hard question. One initiative completed always opens the door for the next one, so I tend to focus on the ‘what next’ possibility. I have appreciated the opportunity to be involved in curriculum development over the years and the learning I have personally gained from the research and writing this involves. If I have to name one moment of the most satisfaction – it was the hard-fought approval for the Bachelor of Teaching Degree back in 2007. NZTC deserved to be the first private training establishment in New Zealand to gain approval to offer a specialist early childhood degree, the Bachelor of Teaching (ECE). And it has been onwards and upwards from there.

Over the years you have been a keen contributor to He Kupu. How have you seen He Kupu evolve since its inception in 2007?

I love that He Kupu is free, easy to read, easy to access and that it encourages practitioners in the field to share their knowledge and experience alongside esteemed academics and researchers in Aotearoa and throughout the world. I recognise it is a starting point for many practitioners to publish, bringing down barriers or fears around academic prestige or status. This is incredibly important for a sector that’s growing and that has so much voice to share from within the sector.

You must have visited many early childhood centres throughout Aotearoa NZ over the years?

I treasure the early childhood centre moments that I walk into each week. I aspire to see thriving children learning in interesting and engaging play environments, supported by informed, resilient, and compassionate teachers. And for these teachers to advocate for strong and resilient families, whānau, and communities.

Is there a standout NZTC memory or moment that you would like to share?

Surviving the 2011 February earthquake in Christchurch. Our campus and offices were in a lovely old two-storey brick building, very close to the centre of town. We were so grateful it occurred on a Tuesday as we had just completed a Block Course with around 30 or so students, the day before. There were only five staff in the office on that day, and thankfully the floor above us remained intact, or it would have been a different story. I have never hugged my colleagues so intensely after scrambling over office furniture and bricks, and onto the street in front of our building. It was a trying but special time at NZTC. We pulled together under really difficult circumstances.

How do you envisage the next 40 years for NZTC?

To still be going strong, to be using technology in new and innovative ways, and to continue the vision of responding to the needs of families and communities. Perhaps other areas of community work beyond ECE and the Healthcare sector will be added to the programs that are offered today.