Bronwyn Beech Jones

"Inspiring teachers created a safe space to share our ideas and experiences"

When Bronwyn Beech Jones joined Yarra in Year 7, she found it quite challenging getting used to a more formal uniform and structure to school.

“Year 7 was a time of going from being a big fish in primary school to being in a much larger ocean,” she says.

But Bronwyn quickly settled in and by Years 9 and 10 her passion for History came to the fore. Bronwyn studied Arts at the University of Melbourne – with a double major in History and Indonesian.

She is a PhD candidate and holder of the Hansen Scholarship in History and works as a research assistant on a project examining women’s influence on governance and development in Indonesia.

In 2011, Bronwyn travelled to Malaysia with fellow Yarra students, which was an opportunity to use her Indonesian language skills for the first time. She recalls paddling in a long boat to be welcomed into a local home in the jungle of Sarawak.

“I remember talking to the family about their family, about school and sports and trying to describe snow to people who’d never seen it before! It opened my eyes to how powerful language can be.”

Bronwyn was co-dux of her year and remembers some people questioning her choice to do Arts at university.

“Some people said ‘just Arts?’ But it has taken me where I wanted to go. There are so many pathways after school and you have to find the path that’s right for you. I had wonderful teachers at Yarra who led us to a point, and then let us choose our direction.”

The School motto that urges students to lift up their eyes also holds a place in Bronwyn’s heart and her approach to life.

“I always associated it with the beautiful location of the School and looking to the hills, but it’s also about lifting your eyes to see the wider world and future possibilities.”

In the next few years, Bronwyn aims to finish her PhD and to publish a book based on her dissertation. She and her husband also hope to visit his family in West Sumatra, and one of Bronwyn’s favourite sayings originates from this part of the world.

“The Minangkabau people of West Sumatra have a saying, alam takambang jadi guru, which means ‘the ever-expanding world as teacher’. As your world gets larger you can learn more about others and yourself, and I love that idea,” she says.