CLAUDIA Keenan was born in Armidale NSW but grew up from age four in Bundaberg Queensland. She has lived in Wooragee for just over 10 years.
What do you do workwise?
I work part-time in a beautiful local boutique, Vivienne Cate, in Yackandandah. The rest of the week I am a stay-at-home parent. In my pre-children life, I was a kindergarten teacher. Next year I plan to return to teaching part-time when my youngest child starts school.
What brought you to your role/career?
I taught English in South Korea for six months and discovered how much I loved teaching. When I came home to Australia, I decided to complete my graduate diploma in Education specialising in early years education. I met my current amazing boss, Karen O’Brien, owner of Vivienne Cate when she was teaching at Wooragee Primary School where my children go to school.
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What do you love about your work?
For my current role I love working in such a lovely friendly street where business owners all know and support each other. I love chatting to local women and those from further afield here on holidays, and just connecting with lots of varied and interesting visitors. For my teaching work I loved the relationships I develop with the children. Young children are so ready to learn and so full of wonder and joy and they have pretty spectacular imaginations. It is a privilege to be an early years teacher.
What do you do in the community?
I’m the Wooragee Primary School council president where, as a group of parents and teachers, we meet regularly to have input into the workings of our lovely school. I am also a member of the school’s fundraising committee where we have many events such as our famous Easter market and cow poo lotto, to our sourdough and wreath making workshops and then making our Christmas relish gift bags. I also co-coordinate our Wooragee Seedlings playgroup. We meet fortnightly at the Wooragee Hall, and this has been such a great way to meet other families in our area and give our children, many of whom have lived through many COVID lockdowns, an opportunity to play with others their own age. Playgroup is also a vital community connector for families, parents, grandparents and carers.
Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?
I love our community. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty close.
What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?
Protecting and preserving our environment. We need to work on ways to make being kinder to our environment easier and simpler – things like simple plastic alternatives that don’t cost the Earth and making renewable energy sources more affordable and accessible.
If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?
American author Gretchen Rubin who wrote ‘The Happiness Project’. Gretchen has a really interesting way of investigating different strategies to see what might make us happier. I would take her to Beechworth Books – the best bookshop in the world – and to all the beautiful natural wonders of our region – Woolshed Falls, the gorge walk and beautiful Mount Buffalo. Then I would take her on a tour of all the eateries and shops in Beechworth, Yackandandah and Chiltern – my favourite towns would have a lot to offer a famous New York-based author.
What book are you reading?
‘The Survivors’ by Jane Harper.
