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Celebrating 40 years – Bedford’s longest serving member of staff

Merran Renton is our longest serving staff member. Not only has she worked on team but she also studied at Bedford as a student. This week, she celebrates her 40th working anniversary with Bedford – what an incredible achievement!

To honour her long-serving dedication, we asked some questions about her time here over the years and she shared her fondest memories, along with some heartfelt wisdom.

Q: Firstly Merran, what do you remember about your experience as a student at Bedford?

A: One of my fondest memories as a student (although I’m not sure ‘fondest’ is the right word!) is working hard to achieve 120 words per minute shorthand and 50 words per minute on a manual typewriter (I had never seen one before). This required hard work and dedication and involved typing drills and even typing music!

I also made great friends that year and they still remain.

Q: What was your first day working at Bedford like?

A: I mostly remember being very nervous – and then realising that I needed to revise my shorthand to get it back to textbook style! I was fortunate to have friends working at Bedford so that was a good welcome.

Q: What changes have you seen over the years?

A: There have been too many changes over the years to number, however, we have always been moving forward and improving – training our students to be the best they can be.

Significant physical changes have included the location of Bedford, originally in the Sydney CBD, then Glebe and now in Norwest.

Q: What has stayed the same?

A: What has stayed the same is Bedford’s underlying purpose – to train our students in a caring Christian environment, so they are skilled and well-prepared to take their place as valued members of the community.

Q: What do you value most about your time so far at Bedford?

A: I love what I do, training young people with skills to enable them to take their place in the workplace and to be able to contribute to their community. Seeing them grow over a year and mature in so many areas of their lives. Witnessing their graduation is a proud moment.

Also, being able to share my faith over the years has been a highlight.

With Bedford staff, I have made long-lasting friendships. This has created a great working space and community.

Q: Do you know how many students you’ve taught over the years?

A: Wow! Too many to count! But I would say over a thousand students. We have also employed many Bedford graduates over the years. Being able to work with them has been fantastic too, to be able to see firsthand their capabilities being put to use.

Q: Can you offer any wisdom to students or young people just starting out?

Find the sweet spot of work-life balance
Enjoy what you do inside and outside of work
Value friendships and nurture them
Do your best in whatever task is asked of you, from photocopying to the very important meeting with a client
Respect those around you in all positions
Keep learning and looking for opportunities for self-improvement, as well as how to benefit your company too