By Alesha Capone
Point Cook teenager Heidi Rasmussen has won a slew of awards recognising her dedication and hard work in completing a school-based traineeship.
Ms Rasmussen, 18, recently completed a Certificate III in Companion Animal Services at The Gordon in Geelong, while also studying her VCE at Point Cook Senior Secondary College.
In addition, Ms Rasmussen worked at Direct Vet Services (DVS) in Point Cook – where she still works – on weekends while completing her studies.
Among the awards which Ms Rasmussen won are the school based apprentice/trainee excellence award from The Gordon, and another award of the same title for Gforce Employment Solutions, which helps to deliver the course she studied.
Ms Rasmussen also received the Victorian school based apprentice/trainee of the year award and was named runner-up in the Australian school-based trainee of the year awards, plus won the Apprenticeship Employment Network school-based trainee of the year gong.
“All of it’s really, really, exciting, with my hard work recognised,” Ms Rasmussen said.
“The most exiting thing is, that under the program I studied, I’ve got transferable skills I’ve learned for my future employment.
“The experience itself has been really exciting and it’s really exciting to be part of such a great team here at DVS.”
Ms Rasmussen, who is waiting to find out her ATAR score, said she had wanted to become a vet since she was “a child knee-high”.
She said that she hopes to study a Bachelor of Veterinary Nursing at university and then transfer to a Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences.
Ms Rasmussen also said she would like to thank Dr Sarah from DVS, trainer Megan Devlin from The Gordon and Tracey Fulmer from Gforce.
