The Coaches

Carol Calderwood

Australia

I live in the suburbs of Newcastle, in the state of New South Wales, Australia and am happily married to Bruce. We have 4 daughters.

Newcastle is situated approximately 160km north of Sydney, on the east coast. It is a lovely place to live with many beautiful beaches and an ambience that reflects the very laid-back lifestyle which epitomises Australia.

I love to travel, having seen the east coast of Australia quite extensively. One of my favourite places would have to be the Twelve Apostles which is along the southern coastline of the state of Victoria – some of the most rugged and beautiful coastline in the world. (Philip Island isn’t bad too, with the Little Penguin Parade at night…) I’ve also had the pleasure of visiting Prague in the Czech Republic; Berlin in Germany; quite a large amount of The Netherlands which includes Amsterdam; Brussels and Ieper (Ypres) in Belgium; Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; the north and south islands of New Zealand; along with (much more recently) San Francisco, Yosemite, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Orlando/Cape Kennedy and Los Angeles in the USA. (Whew! Been to a few places...) Each place holds its own individual beauty and memories for me. They all exhibit a richness for which I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to experience. I guess I just like the wonderful cultural diversity that this planet can offer us all. (There’s still many more places on my list of “must see”!)

My role, as part of this team, was to edit the text as Ngoc, Lan and Ammu finished writing it. I was also online to assist with suggestions on decisions about visual impact and appearance and also just general encouragement for a job well-done. Making sure the team was functioning as a TEAM:

Together
Everyone
Achieves
More

I hope I fulfilled my role to the satisfaction of the team.

I must take this opportunity to thank my family – Bruce, Hilary, Jillian, Eleanor and Miranda. I know there’s been a few “burnt offerings” which you’ve been subjected to as well as sometimes just having to get something for yourselves because I’ve been online for the team. Thanks for the tolerance and understanding – I love you all dearly…

I have coached many teams for the ThinkQuest programme since the year 2000. I suppose it could be considered my “hobby” to encourage and advise the students who participate in this competition, regardless of where they come from. I have been taught many things by these incredible kids – tolerance, understanding, patience and hope for the future of this world. There is something special about being part of a team which is so culturally diverse. This team has been no exception! They are a wonderful team of young people whose skills have never ceased to amaze me. I daresay they will go on and continue to amaze all whom they come into contact with in the future. Jim, the Primary Coach, is an amazing gent who gave his very limited time to keep abreast of team events and offer timely and much needed advice. You’re a great bloke! It has been an absolute honour and pleasure to be the assistant coach for this incredibly diverse and exceptional team! Well done everyone!!!

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