'If it's important to them, it's important to me': 11 years of Miss B's tutoring

However, one decision in her mid-twenties solidified her teaching career and separated her from other educators.

Whilst teaching in remote Western Australia, after graduating from UTAS, Ms Connell got her postgraduate and master's degrees before flying to London, where she taught music.

Ms Connell said after a year abroad, she returned to Launceston and began working as a teacher's assistant at a local high school.

"I started to notice that many children were slipping through the cracks with major gaps in their education," Ms Connell said.

"So I started to tutor a couple of them after school while keeping my teacher's assistant job."

Soon enough, the word was out, and more students attended Ms Connell's service, better known as Miss B's, to her students.

After a year of juggling both jobs, Ms Connell took a leap of faith and left her department job.

Ms Connell said her business continued to grow, and the number of students became too much for her to handle alone.

"I started to hire people to help; 11 years on, I have six fantastic ladies who work for me," she said.

"We currently have about 150 students on the books for academic, art and music tuition."

Ms Connell said it is valuable to be able to move at a pace that suits both the tutor and the student.

"You're not marching to a calendar or a timeline," she said.

"I've been in schools; I know when you have 30 children in a classroom, you have to cater to the majority, and most of the time, there are students outside that."

Ms Connell said adequate support for these students required time, which was often not available during a traditional school day.

"Some excel and need extra work to cater to their academic level, and others struggling, perhaps they missed time at school, or have family issues.

"Catering to these students takes time, effort and energy - six hours isn't enough.

"That's where my services come in; we can dedicate the time to it."

One of the longest-running students from Ms B's Student Service recently turned 18.

Miss Connell said the particular student had attended her services since she was nine.

"She said to me, "I've been with you half my life"," she said.

"That's a really special connection. I have watched her grow up and gain confidence and an understanding of herself.

"I know how she learns and have seen her continuously improve over the years."

Ms Connell said she had "a lot of space in her head" for important matters to her students.

"If it's important to them, it's important to me," she said.

"The relationships are really important in helping them engage - you're 99 per cent there if you have that."

Miss Connell said she was "always looking for opportunities" and often travels far and wide with her students to participate in competitions and workshops.

"It's one thing to the next, but I think I like it that way," she said.

"We just did competitions in Launceston, and now we are off to Burnie. As soon as that finishes, we will be off to Melbourne for a workshop with NIDA [National Institute of Dramatic Art].

"Some of my arts students have work on display in Florida and the UK."

Miss Connell said her dream of working one-on-one, educating, and fostering friendships with the next generation wouldn't have become her reality without the willingness of parents and students.