Current Funding

My name is Mollie Scofield and I am starting my second year in a dual degree in Nursing and Public Health at Queensland University of Technology. I am a proud Mardigan woman, who grew up and is still growing up on Jarowair and Giabal land. I have been extremely fortunate to have the support system that has allowed me to become the first person in my family to attend university.

I am a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait woman of the Bindal and Wagadagum tribes. Becoming a registered midwife on Thursday Island will allow me to evoke change and introduce traditional pregnancy and birthing customs. My passion for midwifery stems from my own unpleasant experiences whilst in the care of the public healthcare system. I am highly motivated to create change to ensure my daughters and future generations do not encounter the current healthcare system in the manner I have.

My name is Chicarnee Pickering and I am a proud member of the Larrakia tribe, traditional owners of the Darwin region. I am currently in my second last year of university, studying the Bachelor of Health, Sport and Physical Education at the University of Queensland. I am an active member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit and was selected to represent the university at the Indigenous Unigames in 2019 and 2021. As well as this, I represented the ATSI student community as one of the Goorie Officers in 2020, where I voiced the concerns of our collective and worked with the University of Queensland (UQ) Union to promote a culturally safe environment for our people I currently represent the university in AFL, playing in both premier league and reserve grade, and am sponsored by the club as a part of their Indigenous support program.

As a medical student I am very passionate about Indigenous Health and working towards improving the future of health care delivery among the Indigenous population. I am a keen student with a passion of learning. For as long as I can remember I have been eager to understand the complexities of the human body and be involved in improving the delivery of health care. I am empathetic at heart and have a strong desire to be able to serve the wider community and peoples of all backgrounds by providing the best possible health care outcomes.

For as long as I can remember I have always been passionate about helping others, instilling positive change and guiding people to pursuing a healthier lifestyle. Thankfully, the opportunity ACU has given me to pursue my lifelong career goal builds the foundation for me to achieve these changes I have always wanted to in life by becoming a physiotherapist.

For the last few years of school, I knew that I wanted to work in the health industry, but I never quite knew where I would fit in and best be able to make a difference. Fresh out of high school I chose to study Physiotherapy. A few months into the course I was unsure of my decision, but after completing one year of study I decided to take a break and find out what I really wanted to do. To be 100% honest I thought I would never return to study physiotherapy.

When I become a doctor, I want to be involved in the implementation of programs that will aide my community. Health in Aboriginal culture is complex and is defined by a range of cultural, historical and societal issues, with many barriers in place that do not allow Indigenous populations to access culturally safe and effective care. I believe that having Indigenous health practitioners aiding to create that culturally safe environment will benefit the wider community in living and thriving; not in their past, but in their present and future, and I hope to one day help create the future.

My name is Isobella Kruger and I am second year medical student at Monash University. I have chosen to study a Bachelor of Medical Science/Doctor of Medicine because I am extremely passionate about helping people, inciting social change and diminishing injustices in the world today. As a proud Kobumerri and Ngugi woman from the Gold Coast (Yugambeh language) region, I have grown up on country and seen first-hand the damaging health implications on individuals in Indigenous communities of trans-generational trauma and cyclic abuse. Consequently, I have come to discover about myself, that I am a very empathetic person who has always had a desire t improve the situation of mental and physical health discrepancies for Indigenous people in Australia.

As a young child I move frequently throughout Victoria with my mother and younger brother, I never quite finished a full year of study during my primary school years and got my first job as a checkout operator in a chin supermarket, I never really focused on higher education as most of my family seem to ‘get by’ without it. I helped provide for my family and assist my mother raise my younger brother with this learning needs until I moved back to Victoria.

I believe that there is and has been significant gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples health in Australia. One major area which has been avoided for a long time in Indigenous people’s health is Ocular Health, with having less than 15 Indigenous Optometrist within Australia it makes it hard for Indigenous people to find a culturally safe space to go to for regular eye assessments.