After a teaching career of over twenty years, Karen Jubb found one day that, as a Year Advisor, she really wanted to do more to support student wellbeing.

Ms Jubb, now a School Counsellor, has received the NSW Premier’s Anika Foundation Youth Depression Awareness Scholarship.

“I had always found teaching hugely rewarding,” she said.

Ms Jubb currently works at Shortland Public School in greater Newcastle and at Hunter School of the Performing Arts, both on Awabakal country.

“Experience in teaching led to supporting students as a Year Advisor, but I quickly felt I’d like to be better qualified to advise, as well as listening and supporting,” Ms Jubb said.

“So, I enrolled to study a Graduate Certificate in Psychology at the University of New England, and it matched my aspirations perfectly.

“As a School Counsellor, the critical role of social connection and a sense of belonging are in students’ lives became increasingly clear, which is why I applied to the Premier’s Scholarship program to study loneliness and how best to support students in overcoming it.

“A great deal of work has been done in this field in the UK and the US, so I’ll be heading off to universities in London, Manchester, Boston, and Los Angeles to study their work and visit the schools they have been working with."

Fourteen recipients of the 2027 Premier’s Teacher Scholarship have been congratulated by the NSW Premier Chris Minns.

Each recipient receives $15,000 in funds for a five-week study tour during the first half of 2027, with follow-up activities and reporting to be completed within three months of the end of their tour.