They spent the end of uni studying online while teaching at regional schools to help address the rural teacher shortage – and now the first cohort of students from QUT’s EQuIPT program are celebrating their graduation.
Nine QUT students this month became the first graduates from Employing Queensland: Innovative Pathways to Teaching (EQuIPT), an Australian Government funded program that helps regional, rural, and remote Queensland schools.
The program has two streams – a ‘Send Your Best’ path where existing QUT students head west and north in their final year, and a ‘Grow Your Own’ stream that enables people in regional areas to start QUT teaching degrees online while working in their own school community.
The new grads all took part in the ‘Send Your Best’ program.
They started their teaching career early, under the state’s ‘Permission to Teach’ provisions, and spent part or all of 2025 teaching at schools in Inglewood, St George, Mount Isa, Innisfail, Goondi and Clermont.
Six of the students (pictured above) were able to return to Brisbane for their QUT graduation ceremonies last week.
Tahlia Greentree taught Year 4 at Sunset State School in Mount Isa during the final semester of her Bachelor of Education (Primary) – and loved it so much she is returning there next year.
“I wouldn’t have chosen any other way to start my teaching career,” she said.
“Moving 20 hours away from family and friends can be incredibly daunting. But everyone I have met in my community has had the same attitude: kind, friendly and helping. The friendships I have made are truly amazing and make missing home so much easier.
“If you are at the shops, at community events or walking around school, the children are always so happy to see you. Almost every time you go out you will see a student from your school and their face lights up.”
Ms Greentree said it had definitely been a challenge combining the end of her university studies with the start of her teaching career, but the rewards had been worth it.
“My last semester of university and my first six months of teaching was not easy, but with the support from EQuIPT, my school and my family I was able to achieve my biggest goal in life: to be a teacher,” she said.
“Finally graduating allows me to do something I have wanted to do since primary school.
“I have always wanted to be a teacher and care for my students. My students will be able to receive the best education they can, whilst also having a teacher that cares for them inside and outside of school.”
Bachelor of Education (Secondary) graduate Bailey Young was a guest speaker at his graduation ceremony, where he gave the students’ address.
He grew up in Brisbane but spent the whole of 2025 teaching history and geography at St George State High School, living in a town of 3000 people.
Next year he is also returning to his school and new community.
“This year pushed me more than any before, but it also confirmed how much I love teaching,” he said.
“Teaching in a regional area has been one of the most rewarding decisions I've made. St George is a close-knit community where relationships truly matter, and you feel supported everywhere you go.
“As a new teacher, I’ve loved the sense of belonging. Students, families, and colleagues all go out of their way to welcome you, and you really do become part of the town, not just the school.”
Mr Young said the support from QUT, his mentors, the EQuIPT team and his new school colleagues had got him through his combined workload in 2025.
“It was a big year, but I never felt like I was doing it alone,” he said.
“Graduating feels incredibly meaningful. It’s a mix of pride, relief, and gratitude.”
Matthew Harman taught for three terms at Inglewood State School (which has students up to Year 10) on the Darling Downs while he finished his Master of Teaching (Secondary).
He has an arts degree in history and English from Griffith University and embarked on his postgraduate teaching degree at QUT so that he could pursue his dream of becoming a humanities teacher.
It’s been a long journey that included a three-year break.
He said graduation meant everything to him.
“COVID and some significant losses in the family impacted the progress of my studies,” he said.
“There was a strong possibility that graduating wasn't going to happen. But here we are.
“I owe so much of that to the support of the EQuIPT program in helping me take the proverbial bull by the horns to finish my studies at the highest possible level.
“I have always wanted to teach history and geography, and as of next year I will be.
“The school I worked with through the EQuIPT program generously offered me a role, and now I get to teach the subjects I love to future generations – with all the advantages of being familiar with the school, its processes, the students, and the community.”
Bachelor of Education (Primary) graduate Caitlin Kitto also taught at Inglewood State School this year and lived in the town of about 950 residents.
She said the local community and her university had made her feel very supported during such a busy year.
“When I joined the Inglewood State School community I was welcomed with open arms and I have been continually supported through the good and tough days,” she said.
“I figured out my work/study balance quickly with the help of my EQuIPT mentor Jodie.
“I dedicated two afternoons a week and Sunday to completing my university units and assessments while every other day I was doing my weekly organisation and creation of my teaching and learning materials.
“This balance helped me tremendously with completing my degree while being a full-time teacher.”
Ms Kitto said she was excited to be returning to Inglewood next year and teaching Year 3 and 4.
She said she would encourage other people to ‘leave their comfort zone’ and consider a career as a teacher in a rural town.
“My advice is to just do it, take the leap of faith like I did,” she said.
“You will feel very rewarded and grateful for what you have done.”
The Executive Dean of QUT’s Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Professor Lori Lockyer, said the university applauded the EQuIPT program’s first graduates.
“We look forward to seeing the positive impact they will have in their classrooms and communities across the state,” she said.
“We are incredibly proud of the EQuIPT program and the opportunities it provides for aspiring teachers to make a real difference in communities across Queensland.”
Another 25 existing QUT students will move into the program’s ‘Send Your Best’ stream next year and start teaching in regional schools.
And more than 20 new students from regional areas have applied to start the ‘Grow Your Own’ program in 2026 as online students in their home towns.
Photo at top: New QUT teaching grads (left to right) Matthew Harman, Phoebe Keir, Caitlin Kitto, Tahlia Greentree, Bailey Young and Ryan Cole at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus.
QUT Media contacts:
- Mechelle McMahon, media@qut.edu.au
- After hours, 0407 585 901 or media@qut.edu.au
