To be a learner you need some of the following traits: a desire and reason to learn, willingness to make mistakes, a sense of humour, a strong will and tenacity, so it is no surprise that Kubra Mohammad Ishaq has been chosen as KNH student of the year 2020.
Kubra joined our English and Work Skills class in 2018. She and a friend came from Pt Cook twice a week for classes and Kubra decided to stay on after the birth of her friend’s child.
Having left Afghanistan over 20 years ago she has lived in Pakistan and Dubai before arriving in Australia with her husband and 4 children around seven years ago. Whilst growing up in Afghanistan Kubra was not allowed to attend school so she arrived here unable to read or write her first language, Farsi.
In the time she has been at KNH her progress has been a credit to her persistence and determination to read, write and speak English. During COVID her family, especially her husband, were able to give her extra support with work tasks set by KNH. Virtually every Wednesday throughout the 2020 lockdown (March till December) Kubra picked up the phone and spent 35-40 minutes on reading and speaking tasks with her teacher making her the student with the highest record of attendance in 2020.
When not at KNH 2 days a week, Kubra is very supportive of her friend’s family and her own. She has two daughters furthering their education at University and two sons who are in the workforce with her husband. Kubra has set herself a challenge to be able to read, write and speak English to a satisfactory level to gain her Australian Citizenship Certificate with the family members who have already qualified.
Kubra enjoys vegetable gardening and spends a lot of her day cooking for the family.
She is a committed student who is a joy to work with and a worthy recipient of this year’s award.
Congratulations, Kubra!