Humans of St John’s
Welcome to the latest edition of Humans of St John’s featuring our Head of House for Bow Qing Tian and Secondary Teacher, Mrs Libby Kozij.
Pictured: Libby with husband John and eldest son Michael
I was only eighteen months old when my family moved to Brisbane from a property in Bushly, due west of Rockhampton and so I classify myself as a Brisbane girl, growing up in Morningside with my three siblings.
Looking back, growing up in Brisbane in the ’60s and ’70s was special as we had so much freedom. We walked to and from school each day and regularly changed our route to explore the surrounding bushland. As long as we were home before dark, mum was happy.
Back in that era, we were sent home early from school if it was a wet day or another significant event and one of the most significate memories of my childhood was on 21 July 1969, when man landed on the moon. Kids were able to leave school early to go home and watch this amazing feat with their families on TV.
Starting high school was a huge adventure for me and many others at the time as Brisbane was experiencing the 1974 floods. Our summer holiday was extended a week due to all the damage that occurred throughout the region. I went to Brisbane State High School and our classrooms had not been missed by this devastation.
I loved school and have many fond memories of my time there but when I graduated I just wanted to start earning money. In those early days, the thought of further study was not on my mind and so I commenced my Hairdressing apprenticeship at Stefan Hair Fashions in 1979. This experience at Stefans was life-changing, Stefan himself was way ahead of his time and in addition to the hairdressing skills we learned, we received hours of training and personal development. These skills are forever a part of me and have helped make me who I am today.
In the late ‘80s, I was looking for new challenges and secured a position at TAFE teaching Hairdressing and enrolled in my teaching degree at Griffith University. I continued teaching hairdressing in TAFE until the early 2000’s when I transitioned to work as a VET coordinator. It was during this time that I completed my Bachelor of Education and began teaching in high schools.
I joined St John’s in July 2007 as a Secondary Teacher and have been blessed with the opportunity to further develop, both professionally and personally, for the past 15 years. I have been part of the St John’s community for 22 years with both of my boys commencing as prep students in 2000 and 2004. One might say that St John’s is in my DNA and they would be right.
The St John’s community is unique and special and the educational landscape is everchanging. I value all that I have learned from our St John’s community. I get a lot of personal satisfaction from following the success of our students through to graduation and after, as they commence further studies and their careers. My role as Head of House and involvement in extracurricular activities have enabled me to get to know our students on a different level, supporting their pastoral care needs and developing special relationships with them and their families. I am forever grateful for all that my teachers did for me while I was at school and so being involved in these programs for our students is very important to me.
My family is my strength and support, and I could not imagine my life without them. Whilst COVID has placed many challenges in our life over the last couple of years, I am looking forward to freely travelling again with my husband. There are so many places that we still want to see.
