An OAM lesson for teacher

By Kara Irving
EKREM Ozuyrek was born to teach.
Having studied his whole life, working in countless paid and unpaid teaching positions and teaching English to new Australians on weekends, it’s no wonder the Endeavour Hills resident will be awarded an Order of Australia Medal on Australia Day.
Mr Ozuyrek, along with many other Australians, will be recognised for the ongoing differences they have made to their local communities.
His message is simple- he just wants to create opportunities for those less fortunate, particularly for new Australian citizens.
Having migrated from Turkey as a young child, Mr Ozuyrek understands the hardship faced by people spending their first years in a new country.
For most of his teenage years he juggled working in factory jobs while teaching himself English in his spare time.
After marriage and starting a family, Mr Ozuyrek remained true to himself and enrolled as a mature age student into a teaching course. Four years later he started working as a teacher, first lecturing at Victoria College; which is now known at Deakin University, and hosting language classes on Saturday afternoons.
Within a 20-year period, Mr Ozuyrek had taught at Cleeland Secondary School in Dandenong, volunteered at Mount Hira College; where he is now the principal, worked for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, acted as an interpreter for various government agencies and even managed the Victorian School of Languages.
Today, Mr Ozuyrek volunteers as the vice-chairperson for the Ethnic Communities Council of the South East and the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria and is president for the Keysborough Turkish Islamic and Cultural Centre.