Not many Year 9 students have a clear vision of what it is they want to do with their lives.
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Former Carroll College student Tom Hofsteede was most definitely in that camp.
However, a conversation with his careers advisor opened a door in his mind that led him down a path, a garden path, that 15 years later he was still following.
Tom recently became the horticulturalist at the prestigious Willinga Park Equestrian Centre in Bawley Point.
"In Year 9 I wasn't sure, career-wise, what I was going to do and I had a careers advisor talk to me about TVET courses through TAFE," he said
"I've always been interested in nature and plants and that sort of thing, and horticulture sort of stood out of the group of courses available.
"The Cert II in Horticulture was the main one and that's what I eventually did through Year 10.
"It was a really good experience actually, and that sort of started me off on my journey."
TAFE-delivered Vocation Education and Training (TVET) courses can be completed while students were still enrolled in school. Some TVET courses undertaken in Years 11 and 12 may contribute to a student's ATAR.
Tom completed Years 11 and 12 before enrolling in his Certificate III in Horticulture at Moruya TAFE. Living at Tuross Head at the time, Tom found the proximity "pretty handy".
Tom secured a job at Banksia Villages as the facility's lead horticulturalist and remained there for 11 years.
"While I was there I supervised their landscape projects throughout the place - maintaining the residents' gardens, from the independent living houses to the more high care [facility]," he said.
"Banksia was a great employer - they were really, really good."
Working at Willinga had also been a great experience for him, pushing him in new ways and providing an opportunity to travel to Juandah Plains on the Western Downs in Queensland.
He said Willinga was "an amazing place" to work - "mind-blowing".
"I'm part of a team there - we're a mixture of landscapers, greens-keepers and I'm the horticultural person.
"As a horticulturalist I'm more to do with gardens, trees, more towards the plant side of things.
"At Willinga Park there is a lot - it's quite diverse in what plants we've got, it ranges from local native plants to very exotic, tropical species, to even deciduous trees.
"I jumped at the opportunity to work there for that reason - to expand my experience."
Having had a break after his Certificate III, Tom was ready to delve back in. He admitted that he was "a bit" of a lifelong learner as he embarked on his Diploma of Horticulture.
"I always wanted to do my diploma, it was always a goal for me," he said.
"I'm loving it - it's a bit of a challenge, but it's a good challenge."