Growing up as an Indigenous woman in a small rural town, I am no stranger to the dangers of a healthcare system that lacks the diversity required to provide adequate care for its Aboriginal communities. My decision to pursue a career in health is motivated by my knowledge of the health gap that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia. The disparity in morbidity and mortality rates that affect our Aboriginal population is something I believe can be drastically improved through the growing presence of Indigenous health workers and medical practitioners, who have the background and understanding required to develop a more culturally sensitive approach to healthcare.

I was first drawn to a carer in physiotherapy by observing individuals working in the profession, through my involvement with various sports. Sports people are some of the most celebrated individuals within the Aboriginal communities and the importance of physiotherapist to these athlete’s success has become clear to me. In addition to this, I ave been a mentor for various Netball NSW’s Indigenous development camps over the past two years. Through this experience I have been able to help young Indigenous girls realise their potential in sport and believe in their futures, in the same way my pat mentors have inspired me. Giving back to the community who has supported me so much is very rewarding.

I am excited by the prospect of positively impacting the lives of my future patients, and therefore Indigenous communities more widely, by working to foster safe and understanding environments within our healthcare system that celebrate our unique cultural heritage.

I am writing to you as your Indigenous Health Scholarship Holder, once again expressing my many thanks for your ongoing support during my university studies. I am currently heading into my last year of completing my degree of Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) at the University of Sydney. Receiving this scholarship has made a great impact on my studies, easing the burden of living costs and need to live 5 hrs away from home in order to study.

The previous semester was a shortened one, due to an attempt to complete a 5 week placement block in the holidays. This required an increase in learning content during a shorter time frame. Unfortunately, the placement later fell through due to COVID. During this break, I was fortunate enough to work at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital as a physiotherapy assistant. This was both a challenging and rewarding experience, some days requiring me to be placed on the COVID wards assisting with increasing patient load building up in the hospital, seeing first-hand the impact it had on these patients.

For the 2022 netball season I am again playing for IMB South Coast Blaze in the Netball NSW premier league competition. I am looking forward to the upcoming season versing premier league teams from across the Sydney and Central Coast region. The South Coast Blaze franchise is in its 3rd year of competition, we are looking stronger every year with new local talent added to our squad.

I hope to be able to meet in person with you all this year and thank you in person for your support throughout my final year of University.