This story was written by TLG Public Relations Officer, Anne-Marie White.

Ella Forkin and Dylan Todd are two TLG volunteers with something unique in common. Both of them originally come from rural WA and moved to Perth. And both of them completed a TLG Rural Program in their hometowns. Dylan is from Northam and moved to Perth when he was 9 years old. In the summer of 2018 he completed a Rural Program at Avonvale Primary School, Northam.

Ella hails from Kalgoorlie, a mining town 600km east from Perth. She moved to Perth at the beginning to 2017 to commence tertiary studies at UWA. She is currently studying Anatomy and Human Biology and plans to commence a postgraduate degree in Medicine next year. On her first ever Rural Program she was sent to East Kalgoorlie Primary School.

Dylan describes the experience of growing up in Northam as full of “great childhood memories” with “a strong community vibe that you don’t find too often in the cities.” He became involved with TLG because of a strong passion for volunteering which he developed in high school. TLG’s mission to bridge the education gap between rural/remote and metropolitan students struck him as “something that I not only have a great passion about but can make a significant difference with students, families and the socioeconomic cycle of entire communities.”

Ella describes Kalgoorlie as “beautiful.” She signed up for TLG because of all of the “amazing experiences” she had heard about from friends about the Rural Program. “I’m so glad I did sign up,” she says, “I have been able to see the positive change TLG has in the schools it visits...the ability to assist young rural students in their self and academic confidence, whilst making these incredible bonds with them, is the real reason I come back again and again to volunteer.”

Both Dylan says and Ella described their experiences on the Rural Programs at Avonvale Primary School and East Kalgoorlie Primary School as “incredible.” And both said the program helped them gain a better understanding of the disparities that exist in their hometowns. For Ella, the best part of her Rural Program in East Kalgoorlie was gaining this insight. “Some of the students had holes in their shoes and only owned a singular pencil,” she said, “but they still had big smiles on their faces when TLG arrived at their school...I know that we were able to make a difference for these kids right there in my hometown.” Dylan recalls witnessing a strong socio-economic divide while growing up in Northam. “Many of us who had the privilege of living with the comfort and resources that people not even a five minute drive did not, were consistently told ‘stay on the right side of town’...it breaks my heart to think about somewhere I grew up in having this widely unspoken issue.”

For Dylan, the best part of completing a Rural Program in his home town was seeing how invested the entire community were in the students’ progress in academic and extracurricular activities. “It really gives me hope for a bright future in Northam knowing that the sense of community seems to be heading in the right direction, hopefully it continues that way town-wide.”

Growing up in a rural area gave Dylan a prior understanding of the importance of TLG’s programs. Just the simple act of tutoring in a rural or regional area, he says, could significantly change the standard of education and overall quality of life for entire communities. “It just makes me so happy at the size of the TLG volunteer base, largely by people from pure-metropolitan backgrounds, who have given up their spare time...and have come out enlightened about issues of educational inequality with a drive to be a source of positive change.”

Ella also echoed these sentiments. When she attended the Rural Program in East Kalgoorlie she had a prior appreciation for the lack of resources schools in rural and remote communities have compared to metropolitan areas. For her, the phrase 'education gap' refers to "the gap in resources, teachers and opportunity that students experience.” She reflected that the strength of rural and remote communities is evident in the fact that they are "very good at banding together to overcome these challenges." Through TLG's programs, which provide students with one-on-one tutoring and mentoring, Ella believes the education gap can be reduced. Having the opportunity to be a part of this process has been an "amazing feeling" and "fulfilling experience" that she would strongly recommend to other rural students.

Dylan and Ella have made enormous contributions to TLG over the past few years. They have each attended three Rural Programs in tutor and coordinator roles as well as being a part of TLG’s executive. Dylan served on the Executive as Events Officer in 2017, and in 2018 he was awarded a lifetime TLG membership for starting the Clubs Team. This new team established a TLG club in each of the 5 major universities in Perth. It aims to ensure TLG has a strong presence in each of these institutions. Dylan managed the Clubs Team, as well as working in TLG’s Tutoring Centre, until his graduation in mid-2018. These days he works for the WA Electoral Commission and is currently pursuing his passion for travel.

Ella is a current member of TLG’s Executive. Her current position is as a Coordinator Support Officer. In this role she supports Rural Program Coordinators in all of their preparations prior to and throughout the Program. In the future she hopes to be a successful obstetrician, providing for her community the best opportunities in maternal, foetal and neonatal health. She would love to move back to a rural setting but would prefer to live somewhere closer to the seaside!

The unique insight Ella and Dylan have brought to TLG, being from rural areas themselves, has been enriching and TLG is very grateful for their contributions. Without their willingness, and the willingness of all our other volunteers to give up their time for a great cause, our work to end educational inequality would simply not be possible.