Indigenous Health Scholarship Program

As an Indigenous woman, I am especially passionate about improving the health outcomes of Indigenous communities and breaking down the barriers to accessing healthcare services. Growing up in a rural and remote area and being a Registered Nurse has given me a first hand understanding of the challenges faced by Indigenous communities, including limited access to healthcare services and a lack of culturally sensitive care.

I am a proud  Indigenous Wandiwondian Yuin man of the South Coast of NSW that has been blessed with the opportunity to grow up on my country and form strong connections to my community. I have a solid support network within my family and my community, and this allowed me to develop a strong sense of self and comfort in my identity, and it also gave me a solid sense of responsibility towards my people. While I come from a community with a high Indigenous population, I was the only Indigenous male in my year to finish their HSC.

I applied and successfully got into nursing and can proudly say I have worked as a nurse for the past 14 years. In this time, I have also completed a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine which has launched many opportunities, including working for Doctors Without Borders. I have worked in remote, low resource settings in developing countries in places such as refugee camps, detention centres and war zones.

I am a proud Ngemba woman currently living in Sydney.   I have previously completed a Bachelor of Public Health at the University of Wollongong in 2021 and am starting my Master of Public Health.  I have always been passionate about public health, specifically health promotion that aims to prevent chronic illness by educating people about risk factors for certain chronic diseases.   I have always been interested in taking the skills I learned in my undergraduate degree and working in the Aboriginal health sector to give back to my community.

My name is Maiysha Craig, I am a proud Gumbayggirr and Yaegi woman, and I am in  my final year of  the Doctor of Medicine program at University of Sydney.   I am currently studying full time and also working casual weekends and night shifts as a midwife, so I believe this scholarship would help me immensely to be able to focus primarily on my studies to be able to graduate.

Warami, my name is Teasha Poblet, I am a proud Dharug woman born on Dharug land in South Western Sydney.   I am currently in my second and final year of Mast Clinical Psychology at the Australian Catholic University.  For the last three years I have worked in Aboriginal identified roles within child protection.   First in a role as early intervention caseworker working alongside Aboriginal families to address the challenges they were facing.  I most recently worked as a Provisional Psychologist providing evidence-based trauma therapies to children in Out of Home Care.

I have been working as a Registered Nurse for a number of years, with my passion developing from the goal of supporting and improving First Nations people’s health.   As a nurse, I have been able to complete work in a number of areas with a passion for supporting and carrying First Nations peoples.   I have particular interest in children, adolescent and family health and have the opportunity to complete my studies to become a child and family health nurse.   I am currently working back on Country and working at an ACCHS, as well as the hospital.

While I am not studying in the physical health field, I am studying in the emotional health, mental health and social health field as a social worker.   Once I have finished my degree I want to be able to build therapeutic relationships with my people. I want to be able to advocate and stand n the void for all Indigenous people and families that feel they are not being heard.

Throughout my past two years of university, I have participated in tutoring Indigenous youth through the Graham Polly Farmer Foundation.    This has kept me connected to helping my community and has taught me a lot about myself.   When I first left for university I had ambitions to pursue a career in physiotherapy and return to Broome to assist in sporting programs for Indigenous youth.

I am a proud Gundijumurra person who has many dreams and aspirations that I want to fulfil.   My background has taught me the importance of self determination, the ability to dream big and that work and commitment will pave the way to opportunities and happiness. I feel proud to be a positive role model to my peers and I am the only Indigenous student at my school to complete Year 12 in 2021.   I have a strong connection to community, which ahs mainly been taught to me by my father who works with Indigenous children in the local area of Echuca.