Firefighter recruit Rachelle Poustie is one of the newest members of the CFA family, however she already feels right at home.
Rachelle graduated 12 December after 19 weeks of intense training in CFA’s fourth course for 2016.
Having tried her hand as a personal trainer and real estate agent, Rachelle is looking forward to developing a career that offers a great mix of physical and mental challenges.
“Becoming a firefighter means I’ll shift my focus to protecting life and property, which is an incredible motivation for me,” she said.
“It’s really stuck in my head that I’ll be dealing with people on the worst days of their lives. If I can just be the right person at the right time and make that day a little more bearable, that’s worth the hours of study and all the hard work and training we put in.”
Rachelle feels her previous professions have fallen short in delivering the level of variety and physicality she thrives on.
“I’ve worked in a few different fields, but never found any that can satisfy my need for movement and physicality, as well as my thirst for knowledge and community interaction,” she said.
“Even still as a recruit, it’s so amazing to feel part of the big CFA family, and having visited Mildura just once, I can see that they’re a tight knit bunch up there and it will be great to feel a part of that.”
Moving from Boorcan in south-west Victoria to sunny Mildura up north will be a welcomed change for Rachelle.
“I’ve heard Mildura is a very inclusive, welcoming and friendly town with plenty of people around who share the same love of camping and adventures as I do,” she said.
“I already live rurally, but the different variety of farming compared to the dairy area I’m from in the South West will be great to learn about.
“I love sports, and it’ll be great to add water sports to my repertoire. I’m just looking forward to all aspects of a sea change! I travel pretty light and actually love moving house, I just can’t wait to get up there and go for a good explore around the river with my dog.”
With CFA offering dynamic career paths across Victoria, Rachelle is looking forward to finding out where firefighting takes her.
“I anticipate that I will spend most of my career in Mildura, but my love of travel and meeting new faces makes me think I would also like the opportunity in a few years to spend some time learning overseas, or assisting at interstate emergencies,” she said.
“At this stage I’m just feeling so grateful to be in the job. All I know is: I want to stay in at as long as I physically can, and be the best I can be.”
Find out more about CFA’s recent recruit graduation ceremonies for Course 3, Course 4 and Course 5
Read about other new CFA graduates.
Emre Altiparmak
Daniel Pearce
Vanessa Willams
Natalie Debeljuh
Zoe Wathen
James Wright
Matt Bourke
Author: CFA Media