From student placement to dream job

From student placement to dream job
Jun 26, 2018
“I wanted be part of something that gave young people a place to go, where people would believe in them.”
 
My upbringing in Tropical Far North Queensland had a big impact on my passion to work with young people! I was motivated by the inspiring people in the community, the disadvantage I witnessed and the sense of hopelessness that I and so many of my peers had experienced.
 
I remember doing work experience at a youth service when I was 16 years old. I met a young Indigenous woman who was in residential care because she couldn’t live with her family. She wanted to find a job, so the youth service took us to a job exhibition and the young woman dropped resumes with me by her side.
 
I was inspired by her resilience and by what the service was doing to support young people. (Also, they had food, beanbags and PlayStation so that was cool!)
 
There was a growing desire inside me to give my time to people and my community. I wanted to be part of something that gave young people a place to go, where people would believe in them.
 
A few challenges later and I finally moved to Melbourne and started studying Youth Work while volunteering in the sector.
 
Here I heard about Whitelion and was inspired by the holistic work they were doing. I started as a placement student in Youth Programs, helping with the Younglions Advocacy and Ambassadors Program (YAAP), Leadership Camp and the Custodial Engagement Program. I stayed on as a volunteer because I could see the positive impact the programs were having on young people and wanted to support that.
 
Now, I am employed in Youth Programs with a dream team. In my role I coordinate two Whitelion camps, support YAAP and case manage young people.
 
The programs give space for young people to grow, learn and connect with each other – especially YAAP which works to give young people a voice. I work with amazing, creative and compassionate colleagues and young people every day.
 
Last year, a young person came on a Whitelion camp and was so moved by the confidence of YAAP’s 2017 participants that they joined YAAP 2018. This young person is working through their challenges, continuing to grow with strength and self-awareness.
 
At National Camp 2018, this young person has the opportunity to be a role model for others who are part of the Whitelion community. It is stories like this that make me proud and inspired to continue this important work.
 
Now I’m looking forward to young people across Australia to coming together at our National Camp in September 2018!