Past Indigenous Health Scholarships Program

As a child I always wanted to help. I enjoyed helping people in and around my community and have continued volunteering throughout my adult life. I have been a volunteer firefighter with the CFA since 1993. An encouraging comment during an event where I was providing first aid led me to a career change into Nursing. I first attended TAFE and completed an Advanced Diploma and now after 10 years as an Enrolled Nurse have undertaken a Bachelor of Nursing.

Sarah Blackwell, a proud Wiradjuri woman, traces her familial roots from the Mudgee area to the Wellington region of New South Wales, deep into Wiradjuri country. Despite her immediate family residing in Mt Druitt, Sarah’s upbringing unfolded on Darug and Gundungurra country in Penrith and the lower Blue Mountains region. This rich cultural environment has profoundly shaped Sarah’s outlook and fuelled her unwavering dedication to serving Indigenous communities within her medical career.

I am a mature aged student with a background as a solicitor. Having been raised on an Aboriginal community and strongly encouraged by my uncles and aunts as an adolescent/teenager, I sought a career as a lawyer to help my people. My career included working as initially as an inhouse bank lawyer, then a lawyer in private practise, to a government lawyer in Queensland and work in Aboriginal community organisations, then to a government lawyer in the Northern Territory, then finally back to Aboriginal community organisations in NSW.

My name is Jessica Storrar and I am a proud Yuin woman of the Central Coast of New South Wales. I am currently in my sixth and final year of my Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at James Cook University (JCU). Throughout my time at JCU I have been actively involved in advocating for my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peers in both an academic and healthcare setting.

My name is Nathan Cash, I am a final year MD student at the University of Western Australia.   I was born and raised in country NSW before moving to Queensland with my family during my primary school years.   I did not always know I wanted to study medicine, but I always knew I wanted to one day return and work in rural Australia.   My heritage is that of Ngarigo Nation which spans throughout the alpine region of NSW/Victoria.   As a child I took many trips to Kunama Namadji (Snowy Mountains), at which time I developed a deep love for this region of Australia.

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.

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.

Throughout the time I took to decide that I wanted to be a midwife my culture and background has always contributed to my decision making. Within the area I live in I know there is not may Indigenous midwives available for mums or babies that identify has Indigenous so I knew that doing this would not only benefit myself but my community. I want to be able to provide a safe space for Indigenous mums to voice their concerns or anything they wish to without being judged.

Studying a bachelor of Oral health is something in which I have always wanted to undertake. This line of study will see me being able to work a hands-on job which will allow me to interact with a diverse range of patients. I feel that when I graduate this course it will provide me with the satisfaction that I have made the right decision in my path of study.

When I graduate I have always intended on using this qualification t o help work towards improving dental health in remote regional communities.

My passion to become a midwife came from the early age of 13. I was fascinated in all things pregnancy and birth, and growing up as a Nurrunga woman in a big Indigenous family, it was safe to say that there was always at least one or two pregnant woman in our family. This was always something of excitement for me and luckily as we were such a close-knit family I was able to have the opportunity to support and walk alongside the pregnant women in my family. From start to finish I was absolutely mesmerised with pregnancy and that’s when I decided that I wanted to be a midwife. I was completely in love with the human body and how resilient it can be during pregnancy.

Not only was I interested in the clinical side of being a midwife, my Aboriginal culture allowed me to be open to the spiritual and holistic side of birthing for an Aboriginal mother and family, it was incredible to see how strong women can really be and how unique each woman’s pregnancy and birth can be.