Heritage and hope have inspired a career vision for Jessica Newman.
Ms Newman, whose home town is Condobolin, is one of seven 2021 Cowal’s Wiradjuri Scholarship recipients.
She ventured into healthcare three years ago, on a mission to help support Aboriginal people living with postcolo­nial trauma.
The 25-year-old said this often manifested as mental ill-health.
Ms Newman said she had been inspired to enter the sector and advocate for change, after wit­nessing the effects of “a broken healthcare sys­tem” that had affected loved ones experiencing this trauma in Condobolin.
The Wiradjuri-Kalari woman said she had want­ed to educate herself in a way that would en­able her to then educate and empower her own community.
This included learning about the policies and legislature that could be contributing to social injustices for First Nations Peoples.
Ms Newman began her journey in 2019, diving headfirst into a Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health) at Charles Sturt University and, with the end of her degree in sight, she said it was exciting to see her hard work starting to pay off.
“Working in mental health for me has been incredibly challenging, but entirely rewarding,” she explained.
“I am incredibly passionate about responding to and supporting people in crises, ensuring that people’s trauma stories are heard and acknowledged and providing hope for peo­ple experiencing hopelessness.”
But Ms Newman said next year’s graduation would not mark the end of her tertiary journey, with plans to pursue further studies in law and the legal system.
She said her employment in the health industry had further cemented in her mind the need for reform, with “an underfunded and underdevel­oped system leaving the most vulnerable people exposed and often without basic needs”
“People from low-socioeconomic backgrounds are continually left desolate and desperate due to the systems that inform healthcare and social welfare policies,” she stated.
“Advocacy is about understanding the systems we live and work in.
“I have come to realise what the healthcare sec­tor truly needs is social, policy and law reform to change the systems in which we work and live”
Cowal’s Wiradjuri Scholarships are designed to help and support Wiradjuri men and women, like Ms Newman, who are pursuing a tertiary education to achieve their career aspirations.
Cowal offer two scholarship programs each year – The Endeavour Scholarship Program and Wiradjuri Scholarship Program – assisting local students to pursue further education, beyond high school.
For more information about Cowal’s Wiradjuri Scholarship Program contact the Community Team on 02 6975 3454 or email cgo.community@evolutionmining.com