November 22, 2016

Dr. Indra Returns to School

Last Sunday saw an uplifting graduation at The School of Total Education’s Vijayadev Yogendra Auditorium as the ten graduating year 12 students and one graduating Year 10 student received their certificates of graduation and bid the school farewell.

The guest speaker, past student and cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Indra Nordstrand spoke on the topic “A Surgeon’s Perspective of Gender Impact in the Workplace and the Concept of Work Life Integration.”

“Dr Nordstrand gave a unique insight into the challenges facing young people entering their chosen profession and an illuminating view of the personal skills and approaches which can be employed in meeting those challenges” commented Principal, Shane Power.

“As a past student of The School of Total Education, she was able to reassure the graduates that the education they had received with its focus on values and character development as well as academic achievement has set them up well with precisely those necessary skills” he explained.

In answering questions from the audience after her presentation, Dr Nordstrand spoke of her personal experience attending a competitive university to study medicine followed by 12 years of competitive training to become a surgeon fellow. “I feel the school’s focus on helping students develop intrinsic motivation rather than building your self worth on how better or worse you are than others helped me enormously in dealing with the competitive approach. It meant I was a lot calmer and focussed on my study. This earned me the respect of my peers.”

After Dr Nordstrand awarded the graduands their certificates, each student then spoke of their time at the school, thanking teachers and fellow students and expressing their gratitude for the experience of having attended the school.

The graduates this year are Joshua Benz, Ceilidh Bishop, Austin Burton, Sean Gordon, Cory Hulme, Amelia Kousary, Jorge Muehlebach, Peter Neville, Kieran Power, Ethan Sloss and Finnagen Stubbings.