Mai Hoang is the first recipient of the Bank of us 'Scholarship for Future Educators'

Mai Hoang didn’t always plan to be a teacher. For more than five years, she worked in finance and auditing - and she loved it. Surrounded by a supportive team, she built a strong foundation in business and finance,and developed a genuine passion for the field.

But over time, something shifted. “I realised I wanted a role that was more people-focused and community-driven,” she says. That realisation grew through mentoring junior staff, volunteering, and running training sessions in her previous role - as well as a secondment overseas that broadened her perspective.

Now in her second year of a Master of Teaching at the University of Tasmania, Mai is bringing those skills into the classroom - and doing it with the support of the first-ever Bank of us scholarship for future educators.

The scholarship aims to support teaching students who are passionate about financial literacy – giving young people the tools to make better choices about money, health and their future.

For Mai, the timing couldn’t have been better. Like many career-changers, stepping away from full-time work and into full-time study came with some financial juggling. “It meant I could breathe a little,” she says. “I could focus more on the work I really wanted to be doing - in the classroom.”

That classroom is currently at Campbelltown High School, where Mai is part of the Teacher Internship Program. With small class sizes and strong mentoring, it’s a setting that suits her style - personal, practical, and full of heart.

One standout moment? Introducing a keen student to a self-paced financial literacy program just before the holidays. “When I saw her after the break, she was beaming,” Mai says. “She’d earned a certificate and said she learned so much. I just planted the seed - she did all the hard work.”

After she graduates, Mai hopes to keep teaching in Tasmania, where the need for skilled, passionate teachers is real - and where she’s already starting to feel at home.