The Harding Miller Education Foundation is a volunteer powered organisation with over 130 volunteers working with us in 2022. Our biggest group of volunteers are our dedicated coaches who are a personal guide and support for the scholarship recipients through their scholarship and education journey. These coaches provide an invaluable connection between the various opportunities provided by the scholarship and the students’ current life and experience. They get to know them, build trust, and help them overcome the unique barriers that they face in their own lives. They are a cheerleader, a problem solver, and a trusted adviser. Through this relationship, coaches can anticipate issues and assist students to put in place early intervention strategies before they become unresolvable.
One of our valued coaches is Christina Reid. She is the Brand Manager for Furphy Beer (part of Lion Co). A New Zealand native, Christina graduated from the University of Waikato after spending a semester at the University of Arizona in the USA as part of her study programme. She has been a Harding Miller coach since January 2021 and currently coaches three of our year 10 scholars who are all based at the same school in Townsville.
An accomplished marketing professional, Christina heard about the Foundation from a friend who had recently applied to join our volunteer coaching team and immediately she felt a strong affinity to the students our scholarships support . Christina was attracted to the idea of becoming a Harding Miller coach because she grew up in a small, low socio-economic town in New Zealand and watched so many of her friends leave school early for a variety of different reasons. She wanted to help others realise their potential and not be limited by small-town educational and employment opportunities. She knows first-hand the power of a good education and wanted to share that with others!
Christina enjoyed meeting her scholars at last year’s awards night in Brisbane as she was able to cement the relationships she had already started to form with them remotely. She is in regular contact with the girls and has encouraged them to start tutoring and take advantage of the other scholarship tools on offer such as Studiosity. She shares a love of rugby league and, sport in general, with her scholars so their conversations are not just all about study and academic achievement!
Christina recently presented at a Harding Miller online Careers in Focus session where she was able to share her knowledge and passion for education, life and travel with a broader group of Harding Miller scholars, staff and coaches.
