Skills and Confidence

With the skills and confidence I gained at SeniorNet I achieved more than I could ever have imagined. At the end of my first year at High School my teacher wrote on my report ‘Ruth has shown the ability to write short stories that capture the interest of the reader’ (or words to that effect!) There were two things I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’, one was to be a writer and the other was to be a teacher.

Unfortunately I was unable to take on either of these professions so became a Secretary which did involve some writing, though not my own, of course.

Some fifty years later after acquiring a computer and having absolutely no knowledge of how to use it – couldn’t even remember how to turn it on! – a SeniorNet Learning Centre opened in Kawerau where I live. Following the advertisement in the local newspaper I presented myself at the first meeting. From then on there was no stopping me.

My tutor was wonderful, teaching me not only the Word Processing Levels 1 to 4 but opening my mind to the wonderful world of just what the computer had in store for me. Having completed a couple of Courses a friend asked that I write up his autobiography. How easy it was, what with the spell check, thesaurus, page set-up and even putting pictures into the manuscript.

Over the last twenty years I’ve become a Tutor. My main aim is to help students realize that their computer can give them much more than simply sending emails to their friends and family.

So, with the skills and confidence I gained at SeniorNet I wrote  and printed, my own autobiography therefore  becoming both a writer and a teacher, how cool is that?

By Ruth Plank from Kawerau