CAROYLN Tomlinson was the winner of this year’s Anne Pennington Award at The Centre.
The award is celebrated each year in memory of a former staff member at The Centre, Anne Pennington, who passed away in 2004.
This award is presented to a student who shows development in their knowledge and skills, care and encouragement of others, persistence and teamwork.
"The Anne Pennington Award is a wonderful tradition of The Centre showcasing some of our most outstanding learners,” The Centre chief executive officer, Sue Geals, said.
“We are proud of all of the nominees, and congratulate Carolyn Tomlinson on being awarded as the winner this year."
Ms Tomlinson was nominated by her trainer, Lyndal Perry, due to her passion for learning and willingness to help others.
Before studying at The Centre, Ms Tomlinson worked as a nurse and in the hospitality industry but sustained an acquired brain injury in 2002.
“I had a long and drawn out recovery period combined with a lengthy WorkCover claim which saw me unemployable for 20 years,” she said.
After her recovery period, she decided she wanted to return to the workforce, but found there were some extra skills she needed to learn.
“I wanted to explore the possibility of returning to some form of employment, I really felt I needed to bring myself up to date with computers and digital skills,” she said.
“I also wished to learn job seeking skills, application processes, criteria and online interviews.”
From there her case manager at Wellways in Albury, Cheryl Roberts, referred her to The Centre in Wodonga, which Ms Tomlinson said she was extremely grateful for.
“Cheryl Roberts has actually retired now, however, I was very fortunate and I spoke to her on the phone,” she said
“I shared with her my experience with The Centre and told her about winning the Anne Pennington award; I thanked her for setting the wheels in motion for me.”
Ms Tomlinson said she’d also like to thank The Centre staff, Maria Wadley and Lyndal Perry for helping her get to where she is today.
While studying at The Centre, Ms Tomlinson completed certificates one and two in General Education for Adults, levels one and two of Digital Literacy, a Microsoft Office Intensive, and a First Aid and CPR course.
Ms Tomlinson said she felt very fortunate to win this year’s award.
“I never for a second thought I would win the award, I was pretty proud to even be nominated,” she said.
Alongside the framed certificate, Ms Tomlinson was also inducted into the perpetual Anne Pennington Awards book, which is on display at The Centre all year round, and received a $500 prize, which she plans to use to buy a second-hand laptop.