Behind every Yalari student is Family

For Ben and his wife Jasmin, the Yalari journey began with someone they knew – a cousin had attended boarding school on a Yalari scholarship: A young person from their own community taking a different path through education and showing what was possible.

Their daughter, Aylah, was just nine years old when she first said,

“I’m going to do that one day.”

At the time, Ben and Jasmin thought it might be a passing comment, but it stayed with her. The idea continued to come up in conversation and, as the years passed, became something she could genuinely imagine for herself. Ben believes that happened because Aylah had already seen someone from her own community take that path. As he puts it,

“children can’t dream of what they can’t see.”

Seeing someone from her own community attending boarding school gave Aylah something powerful: the belief that it was a pathway she could follow too.

Role models matter

They help young people imagine new possibilities while remaining connected to who they are, where they come from and the people who have shaped them.

For parents, having your child go away for boarding school is never a simple decision. It means being apart for long periods and missing everyday moments that make up family life. It means trusting others to care for your child while they learn, grow and find their place in a new environment and above all, it requires trust.

For Ben and Jasmin, that trust was built around their kitchen table when Yalari Founding Director Waverley Stanley visited their family at home. Together, they spoke openly about the opportunities that boarding school could provide, the challenges that come with living away from home and the support available, both at school and beyond.

As Ben recalled,

“For us, it began when Waverley flew all the way down from Queensland. If this bloke was willing to fly all the way down to Mildura to meet us at our table, then he cares greatly for what he does.”

What stayed with the family was not just the conversation itself, but the feeling that they were entering into a relationship built on genuine care and shared commitment. It gave them confidence that their daughter would be supported throughout her school years and that their family would remain an important part of it.

Parents Ben & Jasmin with daughter Aylah & Yalari Managing Director Llew Mullins

Wraparound support for the journey ahead

From orientation, where students meet others beginning the same experience, to regular visits, check-ins and ongoing support throughout the year, the focus remains on walking alongside students and their families. Family and community are not left behind when a child goes to boarding school – they remain at the heart of the journey.

As Ben told Aylah,

“Not only are you shaping your own future, but those two little brothers that you left at home a few years back.”

Today, Aylah is in Year 10 at Scotch College in Adelaide. What began with a conversation around her family’s kitchen table when she was nine has become a journey the whole family has shared. As she continues her education, her younger brothers are beginning to imagine the same possibilities for themselves.

Behind every Yalari student is a family. For Ben and Jasmin, that student is Aylah.