Ms Sonia Loudon
2018
Helen and Michael Gannon John Monash Scholar
M.Ed. Education Policy and Management
Education
Harvard University
United States of America
Education
Schools Education
Sonia graduated from Harvard University, where she used her Helen and Michael Gannon John Monash Scholarship to complete a Masters degree in Education Policy and Management. Sonia chose to study in the U.S. so she could develop an effective model for improving the quality of education in underserved communities. Her overall goal of reversing the widening inequality in the Australian school system has been forged from her experiences in teaching and school leadership in Melbourne’s outer-north. Before entering teaching, Sonia graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours and a Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University. She was listed by the Australian Financial Review as a Woman of Influence in 2016 for her contribution to STEM education and founding a social enterprise that provides outer suburban and regional students with access to professional work experience placements. Upon returning to Australia, Sonia became the founding Learning Specialist at a new government secondary school in Craigieburn, VIC where she is now Assistant Principal.