Alumni and Supporters

Steve Warwick

Bachelor of Education (Secondary), 2017

Less than a decade since graduating from Edith Cowan University (ECU), Steve Warwick has made his mark as one of Western Australia’s top teachers.

Highly regarded for the positive impact he is having on his students, the Level 3 Classroom Teacher was awarded the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Educator of the Year (Schools) at the 2024 Premier’s Science Awards.

“It was a bit of a shock, but it was an absolute privilege,” Steve explains. “In all honesty, I didn't expect to be a finalist, let alone the winner.

“But it was a very nice acknowledgement of all the time and effort that I've put into everything in terms of STEM and developing my students, and offering students different pathways.”

Steve’s teaching journey began with studying a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) at ECU.

“I had a strong passion for woodwork and had started to get a bit of interest in engineering and electronics towards the end of high school, as I was trying to decide which pathway I was going to go down,” Steve says. “ECU was the only university in WA that offered Design and Technology teaching, so it was a natural fit.

“I think the idea of being able to pass on my passions for that area was what drew me towards teaching.”

Steve says he thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on aspects of the degree.

“Getting that extra exposure in the workshop learning skills that I'd never learnt before, for example, metalwork, or 2D and 3D modelling, leading into more advanced technologies,” he says.

“But also the practicums were really beneficial. Getting us out into schools, actually seeing what a real school environment was like and being able to be hands-on, being able to get that extra experience with teaching students was a super beneficial part of my time at ECU.”

After graduating in 2017, Steve was offered a role at Ashdale Secondary College, where he had completed his final practicum.

“I got picked up straight away which was nice, on a half teaching load of Design and Technology, and then also a half teaching load of ICT, or Digital Technologies, and Career and Enterprise,” he says.

“While I'd gone into teaching mainly for woodwork, I found that I actually had a really strong passion for engineering, electrical engineering in particular, and mechatronics - and moved into that course in my first year of teaching.”

By the start of 2020, Steve had secured the role of STEM Coordinator at Ashdale where he remains today, introducing students to the many opportunities in Design and Technology and STEM.

“I became responsible for organising STEM engagement opportunities for our students here at the college, working with our wider community and our primary schools in terms of STEM, developing courses, working with external providers, as well as trying to encourage students to study those STEM subjects as they moved to senior school,” Steve says.

“I found that being able to encourage students to go down these pathways in STEM that are more emerging careers, more employable, higher paying jobs - I found that was a really nice segue into what I wanted the students to get out of their education as they were coming to the tail end of it.”

Steve has been instrumental in increasing female engagement with STEM, developing engineering study pathways, and giving up his own time after school and in school holidays to develop and run the college’s FIRST Robotics team.

“The robotics competition is open to all students across the board, from Year 7 right through to Year 12,” he says. “That has allowed both female and male students to be part of an extracurricular activity, get out and compete against other WA schools as well as national and international schools, both in state and national competitions.”

And while his incredible work has been recognised with some prestigious awards, for Steve there is nothing better than getting through to his students.

“Seeing my students be successful in an area that they didn't realise they had an interest in, and being able to pass on my passion within the different subject areas is really rewarding,” he says. “Or seeing a student that struggles academically and being able to work with them to get a C grade, or a student that is normally a C grade student being able to get a B or an A grade.

“Seeing my past ATAR Engineering Studies students, now going out and doing really good things at different universities around Australia and getting their own awards within engineering - it's nice to see that I've had a bit of an impact in those areas.”