Steed Carter: Return to Tatachilla

Learning while leading

Story by Poppy Fitzpatrick. Photograph by Jason Porter.

As a 2020 graduate from Tatachilla Lutheran College, Steed Carter wasn’t long out of high school before returning to fill a new role as First Nations Support Officer in November 2021. Yet, barely a year of ‘real world’ experience has equipped Steed with profound wisdom and a humble sense of leadership well beyond his years. While helping students navigate their personal and cultural identities, it seems Steed is making important discoveries of his own, both within his Ngarrindjeri ancestry and beyond.

As a First Nations student beginning at Tatachilla in year seven, Steed sometimes experienced a disconnect between his level of cultural knowledge and what was assumed by the broader community. Despite the importance of representation, Steed acknowledges the pressure that can come with expecting First Nations students to be cultural spokespeople. It’s a responsibility he hopes current students will only need to fulfil if they choose to.

‘I just want First Nations students to be seen as students first and that’s it. Anything extra is stuff that they offer,’ Steed says. In his new role, Steed is focused on helping to create a safe space for current students to follow their own path towards self-discovery, whether they’re connecting with their cultural identities or exploring their sense of self in a broader context.

‘Identity was always a massive thing for me,’ Steed says. ‘You spend so much of your life putting on a character, but after a while you wonder if that’s really you or how you want people to see you, which I started to really struggle with in year eleven and twelve.’

While still a student at Tatachilla, Steed found positive guidance through a mentorship with Ngarrindjeri man Justin Wilkey, facilitated by SA Independent Schools Association. The pair connected once a term and Steed was encouraged to pursue a Bachelor of Science Psychology at ANU in Canberra. The move to Canberra was challenging, but also transformative for Steed as he found himself set adrift from his previous support networks. His experience identified the gaps in resources that currently exist for First Nations students, who are often highly focused on getting through school and into university and less on what comes next.

‘Most of your development comes from the things you do outside of high school, so that’s the main focus for me in my position now,’ he says. ‘When I went to Canberra, I think I grew more in those three months than the rest of my life combined.’

Despite changing direction, Steed seems to have landed on his feet in a job that harmoniously combines his interest in psychology with his love of people, while providing a unique space to explore his Ngarrindjeri heritage and local Kaurna culture. Taking class groups on walks through the Eco Classroom’s Kaurna Tapa trail to highlight traditional uses of bush foods and medicines, Steed has slowly been able to expand his own knowledge of the Country upon which Tatachilla is built.

Steed’s new role also involves advising on the school’s Reconciliation Action Plan, which he looks forward to building on once community meetings are able to resume. In the meantime, he’s been exploring ways to incorporate cultural learning into all areas of the curriculum. As a result, Steed has begun nurturing connections in the broader community, such as with local elder Aunty Ellen Trevorrow from whom he’s learning weaving techniques to pass on in school workshops.

While he navigates his new path as Tatachilla’s only First Nations Support Officer, Steed’s main goal remains simple but earnest: to constantly inspire discourse and growth around reconciliation, while ensuring First Nations students have consistent access to whatever support they need. He’s proud to be part of a school community who’ve often been strides ahead in reconciliation action, but he’s determined to avoid simply ‘ticking boxes’.

‘Reconciliation is a job that’s never finished, there’s always something else to do,’ Steed says. ‘It’s great to be proud of how far we’ve come, but why stop there when we know we can do better?’

By encouraging active engagement in reconciliation throughout the whole school – from parents, to science teachers, to groundskeepers – Steed hopes the community will continue to grow in knowledge and acceptance.