Completing Year 12 at Glennie and then going on to study Business at UniSQ, Lizzie Mahon decided to move back to Charleville as she missed home so much.
'After years away at boarding school my parents were happy to have me home but made it pretty clear I had to find a job, so when I was offered a traineeship to become an Indigenous health practitioner it seemed like good timing.'
A proud Torres Strait Islander woman, Lizzie decided to enrol as an online, external student with the UniSQ’s Bachelor of Nursing degree while she continued to work as a health practitioner in Charleville.
'Doing something to better Indigenous health outcomes in Queensland has been my drive to progress through my nursing degree and I really want to use everything I have learnt both at UniSQ and through my previous workplaces to hopefully one day become a doctor,' she said.
Supported by an Arrow Energy “Go Further” Indigenous Scholarship worth $5,000, Lizzie completed her final clinical placement at St Andrews Medical Practice in Toowoomba.
'Being a recipient of the Go Further scholarship has meant I was able to afford to move to Toowoomba full time for my final placement, buy a new laptop and focus 110 per cent on my final year of study which has made a world of difference,' she said.
She has already secured – and started – full-time work with Goolburri Aboriginal Health in Toowoomba, now has plans to make a world of difference to others, too.
