Student’s passion for theatre and teaching takes centre stage

Early Childhood Education

Shortly after graduating from a performing arts course in 2020, Covid-19 threw a spanner in Emily-Jane Cull’s thespian dreams. Instead, she decided it was the perfect opportunity to pursue her other childhood dream of becoming a teacher.

“When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always reply with, I want to be on Broadway or a teacher. How lucky am I to pursue both my dreams?

“I often thought about how much I loved performing in children’s theatre, and with the theatre world at a pause, it was the perfect time to pursue that second dream of mine, teaching!”

Now partway through the Graduate Diploma in Teaching (ECE), Cull is excited to be taking steps towards teacher registration, whilst incorporating her passion for performance into her teaching practice.

“I get super excited when I get to combine my two loves, and always leave the centre extra fulfilled when I get to share the joys of theatre with tamariki.

“Singing is one of my favourite things to do, so you can imagine my excitement when I found a ukulele in the cupboard at my centre. I do love to get that out and sing along with the children.

“I’ve also been able to tweak some of my favourite acting and theatre sports games and warm ups to suit the preschool environment, and I’ve noticed there are some great benefits for the children.”

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Emily-Jane Cull performing

Being a hands-on learner, Cull finds the Blended Learning mode of NZTC’s study program, combining practical workplace experience with a strong foundation in theory, the perfect balance that allows her to study at her own pace.

“Being able to learn about something and then immediately go into work the next day and try it out myself is super exciting. I love being able to see and feel how the theory works in a centre and I think it’s the best way to learn.

Being dyslexic, she has found the support received from the college fantastic.

“Whenever I have emailed the college with questions or concerns, I have always heard back within the day. It’s really incredible to think how many students they have studying with them, yet they are able to reply to each of us promptly and provide the help that we need.”

Looking ahead, she is keen to combine both passions into her career.

“Combining those skills would be so exciting, and I’ve thought about ways to do this such as writing a preschool theatre programme. I’m really passionate about children being involved in theatre as you gain so many important life skills from it.

“How magic would it be if I got to combine the two into one big, beautiful career?”