Simon Hirth thought his days as a laboratory technician at Wollondilly Anglican College would be full of beakers and bunsen burners. Rather than sticking to science, Mr Hirth has found his role allows him to also play an important part in the spiritual development of his students through the Year 12 mentorship program.

Mr Hirth has mentored three students since volunteering to be part of the program in 2016.

 “Being a lab tech, I am often working behind the scenes,” he says. “[In the program] I interact with the students as I would with one of my youth group kids, whom I am trying to build a godly and uplifting relationship with. Outside of meeting up, I would commit to praying for them, for their faith and future. This really enabled me to be in a student’s life for the better of their education, and they seemed to get a lot out of it.”

The college’s director of teaching and learning, Mr Paul Burns, says, “Philosophically we see the staff as the staff of the college, with no divide between teachers. We employ Christian staff right across from all aspects of the college. We all have a role to play with kids in this community in modelling the gospel to the students and the community in terms of our relationships with one another and with the students. That’s an important part of the way that things work here at Wollondilly.

“The mentoring program is one aspect of that in terms of an opportunity for students to be mentored by people outside the teaching staff, as we recognise all staff have a lot to offer... and can support these students in Year 12.”

Over the course of the year, as Mr Hirth met with his students, he was able to develop good rapport, with students requesting that he attend their Year 12 formal and celebrate with them. “I think the students really valued my time and input, and the friendship and support that had been there for them over the year,” he says. “At each formal, they requested photos and that I dance with them and their friends, and they hung out with me for some of the night and thanked me.”

The mentoring progress allowed a relationship to develop between Mr Hirth and 2017 graduate Morgan Allan.

“He would give me realistic advice, not telling me I needed to study for three hours a day, but telling me to do what I can,” Mr Allan says. Now studying engineering at University of Wollongong, Mr Allan acknowledges mentoring was a big confidence boost during a stressful time.

“It’s easy to freak out and be a bit of a mess, but then Mr Hirth would say, ‘Don’t worry about it’.”

The mentoring process taught Mr Hirth to rely on God’s timing and plan for the students’ lives.

“I was really struck that at the end of the year, two of the students expressed they were open to the idea of God, and I prayed for them to have many opportunities at uni to have deeper conversations about God,” he says. “I hope that one day they will grow and flourish and I will have to trust God he will do that.

“Although we may have a limited time frame to teach these students about God, God isn’t restricted by this and works in people’s lives regardless of how much or how little we are involved.”