![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/02\/InspirationalStudent_49509.jpg\")
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She spent a decade as a baker before a medical operation left her unable to continue in that field, so she had to look for something else.<\/p>\n
“Baking was my passion; I loved to do it,” she said. “When I couldn’t do it anymore, it took me a while to find something else.”<\/p>\n
She cycled through various jobs but felt that none of them was the right one, and in 2022 the flooding in Rochester left her and her family living in a shed.<\/p>\n
At that time, she turned to the one thing that had always been a source of comfort \u2013 writing.<\/p>\n
“The only thing that got me through was writing,” she said. “I’ve actually written my own story, but I’ve never published it before.”<\/p>\n
Ms Knight enrolled in the Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing at Bendigo TAFE, where she finally found her purpose.<\/p>\n
She is now working on two books \u2013 one a non-fiction account of the Rochester floods and the personal stories of those affected and the other a thriller novel. “People need to know what happened,” Ms Knight said. “Rochester’s story was skimmed in the news, and it needs to be shared.”<\/p>\n
Ms Knight was also named the Professional and Creative Student of the Year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A FORMER translator turned local business owner with a love of gardening has been named the Bendigo TAFE Student of the Year. Ying (Sunny) Zhao was among more than 50 vocational students and apprentices who were celebrated at the 2025 Bendigo TAFE Industry Excellence Awards last week. A former baker from Rochester, Bethany Knight, was […]<\/p>\n