Mei (Khanh Ngan) Ho has been chosen as the winner of the ‘Life on Campus’ photography competition, hosted by the Australian Education Union.

Her win was announced at yesterday’s National TAFE Day in Canberra.

Mei is a Hospitality student. Her photo submission captured her teacher and classmates in SuniTAFE’s commercial kitchen learning space. This photo is sentimental for Mei.

“This photo happened at a very special occasion, it happened at the end of our course and, at the time, we didn’t know if we were going to study with each other again in the future,” Mei said.

“When we took this photo, it was not really meant to be for the competition. It was for a photo book for all of us to keep some memories because we are from different countries with diverse backgrounds, but we are like a family in our second home in Australia.”

The photography competition was designed to shine a spotlight on campus life in TAFEs across Australia, and the important role the sector plays in society.

“The competition was an exciting experience where every participating student represents a school, and for me that is SuniTAFE. I got the chance to introduce and advertise our school, my much-loved school, to the country,” Mei said.

“Everyone is a winner regardless of winning an award or not as all participants put the effort in and successfully shared their school’s story with other people.”

Mei is an advocate for SuniTAFE and is always proud to talk about her experiences.
Before this competition, she was involved in a video testimonial project with Insider Guides, a publication company committed to supporting international students in Australia.

“Earlier this year, a lady come from Melbourne to interview me. I was very proud to show her our two big kitchens. Our facilities are very modern and well equipped,” Mei said.

“I also feel very grateful to have experienced teachers teaching me and sharing with me their practical skills so we can learn a lot more from them.”

“That is why I chose this photo for the competition. It showcased our happy smiles whilst studying at SuniTAFE, as well as the friendship and growth we students experienced together as a class. It also captured the support of our teacher.”

“Although we don’t know who we will become in the future, for right now we have an amazing time as students at SuniTAFE.”

The prize for winning this competition is $5,000 and publication in the TAFE Teacher magazine.