
Helping kids to love sport and encouraging them to stay active is the passion that drove Christian to enrol in a Bachelor of Education (Physical & Health Education) at the Australian College of Physical Education (ACPE).
Born in the Philippines and moving to Sydney’s northern beaches when he was 8, Christian fell in love with cross country and jumped feet-first into every team sport he could fit into his week.
At the end of school he did a succession of jobs, but wasn’t completely satisfied. The one thing he really loved was going to the gym every day,
“I was like, how could I get paid so I could be at the gym all the time? So I started working as a coach and then took on a range of jobs in the fitness industry, and have been there ever since,” Christian says.
“I’m now a personal trainer and, a CrossFit coach and, while I really enjoy teaching adults the importance of movement and physical activity, I think it’d be great to have the opportunity to teach younger people to stay active.
“One of my friends was coming to ACPE and since I was living about 20 minutes away, I realised it was kind of the closest place for me to study.
“I’d never heard of ACPE before, but I did a bit of research and then called up and spoke to Gabby and the guys at the front desk and they were so welcoming.
“You know, you hear stories about universities, where you kind of just get lost in the crowd, and you’re just like another number in a lecture room. But here, I feel it does have that sense of community and sense of family being a smaller setting.
“The teachers are brilliant, very approachable and very like, they’ll go out of your way to help. Everyone knows you by name and you don’t get lost in the system.
“So you get to become friends with everyone and you get to, be kind of, if you feel supported in that smaller setting.”
Christian said he had found the class times worked well for him – enabling him to study in the morning and then head off to work as a trainer in the afternoons and evenings. The structure and delivery of the content, combined with the small class sizes and individual focus of lecturers made it easier to learn.
“I think everyone is very like-minded. And whether you meet them, like, in class or you go down to the gym during free time, everyone gets on.”
Christian said that ACPE provided an exceptional preparation for a career as a PDHPE teacher.
“Most of the teachers, have a lot of friends who work in education. ACPE is pretty well known in the education industry. So when I tell people in schools that I’m studying at ACPE, they know where that is.” Christian said.
“I’d love to be a PE teacher. Coming out of this, I either in primary or high school and work in the sports curriculum. Like I said, just to keep, like, young children, like, physically active, and get them to know the importance of, staying fit and being healthy.
“If it’s your passion, it shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your what you love to do. And so I wasn’t worried about getting a career out of out of this in sport.”
For more information about the Bachelor of Education (Physical & Health Education) visit: https://acpe.edu.au/courses/bachelor-of-education-physical-health-education/