Wayne Santo

After serving 20 years in the Australian Defence Force, I wanted to give back to the community and began working as an Indigenous Liaison Officer at Tec-NQ in Townsville. Driven to make a deeper impact on young people's lives, I decided to pursue formal qualifications. Finding it challenging to balance full-time work and family with on-campus study, I transferred to CQUniversity’s flexible distance education model, completing a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) majoring in Mathematics and English.

My degree enabled me to move into classroom teaching, instructing Year 10 to 12 students. Building on this foundation, I completed a Master of Education specializing in Educational Leadership at CQU, which accelerated my progression into senior leadership as Head of Academic – Year 11 and 12, and ultimately into my current role as Assistant Education Manager at Tec-NQ. Today, I oversee senior academic outcomes, support teaching staff, and lead key initiatives that strengthen college-community relationships.

A defining career highlight was graduating from CQU in Sydney on World Indigenous Day. I am equally proud of my work engaging with QATSIF to secure scholarships for Indigenous youth, embedding cultural perspectives across the curriculum, and implementing Individual Learning Plans for at-risk students. Drawing on my veteran background, I also actively advocate for mental health and wellbeing through community initiatives like the Push-Up Challenge, Soldier On, and One Foot Forward.