Michelle Cooper

Michelle was born in Sydney in 1969. She attended a succession of schools in Fiji and country New South Wales, then went to university in Sydney. She started a Pharmacy degree, but didn't like it very much. She dropped out of her course in her final year and did a variety of jobs, including stuffing envelopes, selling ladies' shoes and working in a blood bank. Then she decided she should get a proper job, so she enrolled in a degree in Speech Pathology. She has now worked as a speech and language pathologist for more than ten years, helping students with learning problems. Michelle likes this job a lot. She gets to watch students improve their literacy skills and become happier, more confident learners - also, she gets to work in an office covered in Harry Potter posters and give herself smiley stamps when she does a good job.