DARREN MONCRIEFF
Thursday 16 February 2012
A TRIO of Nunga young men have set their sights high in their pursuit of education and football.
Kieran Stone, Thimos Tsakaridis and Joseph Zadow have accepted placements at Adelaide University this year.
The three are there due to the SANFL's Aboriginal Pathway to Excellence Program which places Indigenous Year 12 graduates with schools and sports organisations to complete traineeships and prepare them for future careers.
The program was developed by the SANFL with funding and support from the State and Federal Governments. APEP's reach extends throughout the State and has become widely recognised within football in SA
Kieran, Thimos and Joseph will combine their uni studies with football at their respective SANFL clubs.
Kieran and Joseph will study for Bachelor of Arts while Thimos will study for his Bachelor of Education.
It's what the future holds that excites the young trio who undertook a APEP traineeship last year.
"It helped me gain experience in the working world realising that some things like sitting at a computer all day isn't really that bad as you are learning new different skills all the time," Joseph said.
"I have decided to go to university to broaden my knowledge, complete my studies and learn new skills."
Thimos' goal is to one day teach at school.
"With the APEP traineeship, I realised how much I enjoyed working with children which helped me want to pursue a career in teaching," he said.
"I want to be a qualified teacher and to help and support children through their schooling."
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 16/02/2012 11:09