Life is like a box of chocolates. There are many unknowns and surprises – we never know what we are going to get, but learning to roll with it is usually what gets us the best flavour. Miss Miller, one of our newest additions to the Science Department here at Pakuranga College, is the true embodiment of this. Behind her awesome lessons, which sometimes include toasted marshmallows and outfits that usually incorporate some type of frog, is an awesome, surprising life that led her here.
Starting off at university, Miss Miller studied for a Bachelor of Life Science with a specialisation in biomedical discoveries. Alongside her studies, she also worked part-time as a developmental support worker, and full-time during the summer running a camp for youth with developmental disabilities. We can already start to see the career in teaching blossoming! She then graduated from university in 2020 in the midst of the first lockdown. Due to this global pandemic, her exciting plans to go backpacking were spoiled, so she continued working as a developmental support worker full-time, which she recollects fondly, “it was a very rewarding job knowing the difference you could make every day in someone’s life.”
About a year later, after the pandemic, our borders here in New Zealand were still closed, so the wonderful Miss Miller wasn’t allowed into our lives just yet. However, she was searching for a change, something a little different from her home. So, she decided to drastically move across her home country to British Columbia. Even more drastic is that she got a job at a ski field, the Whistler Blackcomb Resort, the biggest ski field in North America, after never even skiing before – crazy, right? During her first season, she worked supervising the lodge at the top of the Blackcomb gondola. Staff working for the mountain were provided accommodations on Blackcomb Mountain, which meant while her friends at home were commuting through traffic, she was commuting through knee-deep snow.
Eventually, in 2023, the New Zealand borders opened up and Miss Miller finally made it to Auckland to start teachers’ college! She had always enjoyed explaining scientific concepts to her friends and family, and whilst working at camps she loved seeing when content just clicked for campers. Miss Miller believes that “Knowledge is power; it can explain curiosities, prevent unfortunate outcomes, and help you to overcome fears,” which is such a beautiful way to look at our own learning. It is so comforting knowing that our teachers are so passionate and care so much about our education.
This devotion to student outcomes is actually what led Miss Miller here to Pakuranga College, teaching both Year 9 and 11 Science and Year 12 and 13 Biology. While at teachers’ college, Miss Miller completed a practicum here and loved it! She felt as though her teaching values truly aligned with our school, especially how student-centred our college is. Miss Miller said, “This was clear to me on my first day as a student teacher – you guys, your well-being and your success, in academics, arts, sport, and beyond is what matters most to all staff here!” As well as this, Miss Miller was very excited about the practical side of teaching Science here, which was very different from her own learning back in Canada. If you haven’t been in one of her classes already, one day you might walk into class to then make caveman tools out of soap!
Moving across the world to a different hemisphere seems like a crazy change that would be hard to get used to, but Miss Miller took this move to New Zealand in her stride. She said when she was a kid she used to be scared of swimming and fish. But living in New Zealand, she used our beautiful beaches and ocean to her advantage. She is taking the opportunity to step outside of her comfort zone, and is starting to love snorkelling! Other than exploring our ocean playground, Miss Miller hasn’t had many culture shocks moving to New Zealand, apart from the typical Kiwi way of walking almost everywhere barefoot. Who knows – maybe next summer Miss Miller will ditch the jandals, and embrace barefoot living too?
Miss Miller has lived through some unique experiences that are not just impressive, but inspiring. She has faced obstacles and made extreme changes, but everything led her to where she is today. Miss Miller has taken risks that have led to amazing opportunities and lives with no regrets. However, she did say “I do regret crashing my mum’s jeep in 2016 on the way to an Ed Sheeran concert, but that was also not avoidable.”
After experiencing so many exciting things, what got Miss Miller through it all? What are her tips and tricks for us?
She credits a lot of her success to her family, especially her mum and dad – how they have supported her to get where she is today. Miss Miller says one of the best things that they gave to her is “the sense of adventure I was lucky enough to have instilled in me while growing up,” so maybe we should thank Miss Miller’s parents for sending her our way! She speaks so lovingly of her family, which helps us understand the importance of learning from the awesome people and role models around us.
If there are three things Miss Miller would like to leave with the students of Pakuranga College, they are this…
- ALWAYS ask questions! Don’t be afraid of not knowing these answers right away because curiosity will also open up doors to opportunities, experiences, and growth.
- Learn to love imperfections. Learning to balance “going with the flow” while maintaining your boundaries/ keeping expectations high is key.
- You can not pour from an empty cup. You have to take time to refill your energy stores so you can show up as your best authentic self, able to give it 110%.
So, like Miss Miller does, roll with the imperfections, deal with the change, and take that risk because you might just end up getting the best flavour of chocolate.
Abby Plom – Year 12
