A ceremony held on Tuesday at the Bega Civic Centre was attended by students, their family, friends and employers, as well as TAFE NSW dignitaries including regional general manager Belinda McKinnon and South Coast manager of district operations Paul Goodwin.

Mohammad Attar, who was a special guest speaker at the ceremony, was awarded overall student of the year for 2017.

The softly spoken graduate from Lebanon, who is now studying nursing at the University of Wollongong Bega campus, shared his journey with the audience.

Also acknowledge on the day were Tahlia Braunack, TVET student of the year; and apprentice of the year Thomas Buckle.

Tanja’s Mohammad Attar is enjoying and truly appreciating his opportunity to study nursing in Bega.

Originally from Lebanon, Mr Attar, 30, moved to Australia in 2016 with his Australian wife and child. 

He completed high school in Lebanon, but had limited opportunities for further study there, so was keen to make a go of it in his new home.

“I loved the idea of university when I was younger, but I come from a very poor family and it was just too expensive,” Mr Attar said.

“I had to work instead to support my family.”

Some of the work Mr Attar did in Lebanon was as an ambulance driver with first aid skills – and it was this background that helped cement his choices once arriving in Sydney and now Bega.

“I love to work in the hospitals and I love caring for people,” he said.

But the decision was not without its hurdles, including limited English skills and, now with a second child, the challenge of raising and supporting a young family.

While in Sydney, Mr Attar completed a six-month Assistant in Nursing course at TAFE “which was very challenging, with no-one to translate anything into Arabic”.

Then upon moving to the Bega Valley and picking up work at the South East Regional Hospital, he saw the life of a nurse “and I thought, ‘oh wow, I can do that’”.

He signed up for TAFE Bega’s Tertiary Preparation Course, but it was initially suggested his English would not be good enough.

“But I said to David [head teacher David Grainger] I will be good, I know myself – and he trusted me.

“I stayed back at nights to do more study, but I also had a newborn child at home, we had moved house, there was essay writing, exams and working at the hospital. And I was also supporting other students, mostly with computers as I think I am good with computers.

“I had fantastic teachers and great support and motivation from my wife.”

Mr Attar is now three weeks into a nursing degree at the University of Wollongong Bega campus and on Tuesday was named the 2017 overall student of the year for TAFE NSW Bega.

“I really didn’t believe that, wow that was a big thing,” he said.

“I think they saw me challenging myself and doing well – for me to write an essay is a big thing.

“But I really appreciate what I’ve got.”