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. My family always supported my endeavour into further education, and with their support I was able to live out this dream completing my first degree, a Bachelor of Public Health (Health Promotion) at the University of Wollongong in 2020.

I chose to study in the health area because far too many of our people are dying early from preventable disease.   I have made the choice to break this cycle and do everything in my power to help our mob break their generational traumas.

While my journey to my first degree showed me the importance of developing and implementing prevention strategies to address the inequitable health outcomes our mob face, I struggled working isolated in an office and not face to face with our mob. I believe this is my strongest quality, I draw my inspiration and determination from my people, and I believe I would be better suited in clinical treatment.

The decision to study Optometry came after I had troubles with my own vision. At the time I was scared and genuinely thought that I was going to lose vision in one of my eyes. The optometrist was very dismissive and treated me as though I was silly. It left me furious and the thought of our Elders experiencing this, was painful. I know I can provide better care for mob than what was offered to me in my time of uncertainty and I felt as though I had a duty to obtain this qualification and serve my mob.

My vision is that in 5 years’ time I will be a qualified optometrist that will be able to treat mob in a culturally safe way. My 10-year plan is to give back to my community by helping establish/promote pathways for mob thinking about a career in health. Then when I have established myself, I want to open my own Allied health clinic, along with other Indigenous Allied Health professionals, to deliver a range of culturally appropriate health services.

I have always felt that I had a responsibility to my mob. I knew I had the means to progress into further education, when so many of my people feel like they don’t. I felt lucky to have a strong support system, and I was determined to fulfil this sense of obligation.

After my HSC I was torn between Education or Health, but I always wanted to help my mob. I ended up in health because far too many of our people are dying early from preventable disease. My grandfather and his father before him, both passed away after multiple heart attacks in their 40’s. I am very proud to carry their name, and they were the catalyst in my choice to work towards breaking this cycle to help our mob overcome their generational traumas.

I completed a Bachelor of Public Health in 2020, and I learnt the importance of developing and implementing prevention strategies to address the inequitable health outcomes our mob face on a collective level. However, I always had the inclination to work clinically and become some sort of practitioner, as I believed this would be my strongest quality.

The decision to study Optometry came after I had troubles with my own vision. At the time I was scared and genuinely thought that I was going to lose vision in my eye. The optometrist was very dismissive and treated my partner and I as though we were silly blacks, even though we both held degrees in health. It left me furious and the thought of our Elders experiencing this, was painful. I knew I could provide better care for my mob than what was offered to me in my time of uncertainty, and I felt as though I had a duty to obtain this qualification and serve my people.

In 2022 I applied for a spot in the Optometry program at both Flinders university and UNSW, and luckily enough I was offered a spot at both. I chose to enrol in UNSW because I had heard good things from friends about the culture here.

My first two semesters experience in the optometry program has left me feeling content in my decision to re-enrol in university and in my choice to enrol in UNSW.

I have been exposed to a good initial grounding of the field of Optometry. I have learnt that Vision science serves as the foundation of this profession and that practising optometrists must have a thorough understanding of the mechanisms underlying visual perception and processing in order to diagnose and treat eye disorders effectively.

We have had a small taste in some of the areas our future study will take us including anatomy, chemistry, biology, physics, statistics, and mathematics. It has been a little bit confronting to learn of all the areas of science that an Optometrist must master before they can practise competently. Although, my interest in this degree has certainly not faltered.

While working through this semester I had a great experience as a patient of the UNSW clinic. My student Optometrist walked me through some tests he was conducting on me, and showed me images after he took them, talking me through his experiences, as I shared my motivations for entering the course, and shared with him how important it is to be respectful and culturally sensitive when he has Indigenous clients. It was a good two-way leaning opportunity, and I left learning that I am far sighted.

I am glad that my cohort had the opportunity to enrol in IAHAs cultural responsiveness training through one of my subjects. As a member of IAHA since 2018, I know of the import work they do in the allied health space, and it is reassuring that UNSW also knows of, and respects them as an organization.

I have almost finished a Chemistry course which is something I would have thought unachievable in 2012 when I finished my HSC. Chemical equations and theories were so foreign to me that until 6 months ago I hadn’t the slightest understanding of some of the fundamental concepts of chemistry and now I am very proud of my progress.

I also sat in on a Vision Science carers panel which was another great developmental exercise in the beginning of our journey to becoming Optometrists. I was exposed to a variety of individuals representing different perspectives, and profession within the eye health space, and it was reassuring that there are other opportunities in this area other than clinical optometry if one so choses. It was interesting listening to people’s motivations for entering this space. While I cannot relate to money being a primary motivating factor, it is reassuring to know that all the hard work pays off in the end. However, I did find it interesting that there was little contribution from panel participants in the Ingenious eye health space. Instead, there seemed to be a push for students to travel overseas in hope of fulfilling philanthropic endeavours. While this is great, and being a global citizen is definitely a worthwhile cause, I feel it is important for people in this space to remember that there is an overwhelming need for this type of work in our own backyard. One might remember to try and give back to Indigenous communities after benefiting from living, working, and studying on these traditional lands. This once again reinforces the need for Indigenous people in this space and reaffirms my decision to enrol in this course. In conclusion, I have had a great first two semesters and I look forward to continuing my studies in this course.

I’ve always felt that I had a responsibility to my mob. I knew I had the means to progress into further education, when so many of my people feel like they don’t. I felt lucky to have a strong support system, and I was determined to fulfil this sense of obligation.

After my HSC I was torn between Education or Health, but I always wanted to help my mob. I ended up in health because far too many of our people are dying early from preventable disease. My grandfather and his father before him, both passed away after multiple heart attacks in their 40’s. I am very proud to carry their name, and they were the catalyst in my choice to work towards breaking this cycle to help our mob overcome their generational traumas.

I completed a Bachelor of Public Health in 2020, and I learnt the importance of developing and implementing prevention strategies to address the inequitable health outcomes our mob face on a collective level. However, I always had the inclination to work clinically and become some sort of practitioner, as I believed this would be my strongest quality.

The decision to study Optometry came after I had troubles with my own vision. At the time I was scared and genuinely thought that I was going to lose vision in my eye. The optometrist was very dismissive and treated my partner and I as though we were silly blacks, even though we both held degrees in health. It left me furious and the thought of our Elders experiencing this, was painful. I knew I could provide better care for my mob than what was offered to me in my time of uncertainty, and I felt as though I had a duty to obtain this qualification and serve my people.

In 2022 I applied for a spot in the Optometry program at both Flinders university and UNSW, and luckily enough I was offered a spot at both. I chose to enrol in UNSW because I had heard good things from friends about the culture here.

My first two semesters experience in the optometry program has left me feeling content in my decision to re-enrol in university and in my choice to enrol in UNSW.

I have been exposed to a good initial grounding of the field of Optometry. I’ve learnt that Vision science serves as the foundation of this profession and that practising optometrists must have a thorough understanding of the mechanisms underlying visual perception and processing in order to diagnose and treat eye disorders effectively.

We have had a small taste in some of the areas our future study will take us including anatomy, chemistry, biology, physics, statistics, and mathematics. It has been a little bit confronting to learn of all the areas of science that an Optometrist must master before they can practise competently. Although, my interest in this degree has certainly not faltered.

While working through this semester I had a great experience as a patient of the UNSW clinic. My student Optometrist walked me through some tests he was conducting on me, and showed me images after he took them, talking me through his experiences, as I shared my motivations for entering the course, and shared with him how important it is to be respectful and culturally sensitive when he has Indigenous clients. It was a good two-way leaning opportunity, and I left learning that I am far sighted.

I am glad that my cohort had the opportunity to enrol in IAHAs cultural responsiveness training through one of my subjects. As a member of IAHA since 2018, I know of the import work they do in the allied health space, and it is reassuring that UNSW also knows of, and respects them as an organization.

I have almost finished a Chemistry course which is something I would have thought unachievable in 2012 when I finished my HSC. Chemical equations and theories were so foreign to me that until 6 months ago I hadn’t the slightest understanding of some of the fundamental concepts of chemistry and now I am very proud of my progress.

I also sat in on a Vision Science carers panel which was another great developmental exercise in the beginning of our journey to becoming Optometrists. I was exposed to a variety of individuals representing different perspectives, and profession within the eye health space, and it was reassuring that there are other opportunities in this area other than clinical optometry if one so choses. It was interesting listening to people’s motivations for entering this space. While I cannot relate to money being a primary motivating factor, it is reassuring to know that all the hard work pays off in the end. However, I did find it interesting that there was little contribution from panel participants in the Ingenious eye health space. Instead, there seemed to be a push for students to travel overseas in hope of fulfilling philanthropic endeavours. While this is great, and being a global citizen is definitely a worthwhile cause, I feel it is important for people in this space to remember that there is an overwhelming need for this type of work in our own backyard. One might remember to try and give back to Indigenous communities after benefiting from living, working, and studying on these traditional lands. This once again reinforces the need for Indigenous people in this space and reaffirms my decision to enrol in this course. In conclusion, I have had a great first two semesters and I look forward to continuing my studies in this course.