Rachel Checketts has spent the last six years teaching geography and history in London, Istanbul and Brunei, but she is happy to be back home for her new job in Arrowtown.
The former Dunstan High School pupil and Alexandra resident said the lifestyle and her family were always going to pull her back to Central Otago and she could not be happier to have a job doing what she loves.
As a teacher at Westland High, in Hokitika, Miss Checketts was familiar with the museum's small-town appeal.
"I've brought pupils to this museum in the past. It's great and does so well for such a small museum."
Miss Checketts still lives in Alexandra, from where she commutes every day for 50 minutes to get to work and already she is getting used to the home feel.
"We've already had the fire on, just last week."
Since she started at the museum on January 4, Miss Checketts has had several community groups come in and is looking forward to her first school visit when pupils from Riverton Primary arrive next week.
She plans to take visiting pupils through several new programmes, such as the history of Arrowtown and what it meant to live in the gold-panning era.
She said she was lucky to be filling such big shoes, as recent education officer Angela Verry left the job in good condition.
"Angela did such a good job and I will be sticking with a lot of the same programmes, as well as adding some of my own."
Miss Checketts wants to focus on developing the area of the "secondary tertiary transition and develop a gateway for pupils considering education and employment options".
