My name is Patrick – I was born in the Philippines, and my family moved to Australia when I was six years old. We moved around a couple of times, but I did most of my growing up in Karratha. It’s a small regional town in the North of Western Australia, and there wasn’t much to do outside of school besides playing sports and hanging out, but I loved it.

I started studying at Curtin in 2018, and I’m now nearing the end of my double-degree in Mechanical Engineering and Finance, during which I’ve enjoyed the learning, new experiences, and meeting inspiring people. Over the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to volunteer with CV! and work with not-for-profit organisations. I’ve also been a part of other people’s journeys while they adjust to being new to Curtin, and I’ve been able to support some of our finest students undertaking the John Curtin Leadership Academy as they work on amazing projects for the community.

I have found my first year of full-time clinical placement to be challenging at times but I leave the hospital every day feeling inspired by my colleagues and mentors. The enormous amount of medical knowledge they have mastered is astounding, but what inspires me the most is the way they support their patients with the utmost grace, empathy, and compassion.

Some of my endeavours in the fields of medical education and clinical research include interning at Curtin Community Projects where I was part of a team that raised over $5700 for the Cancer Council and teaching anatomy to first-year medical and medical imaging students as a near-peer mentor.

Despite the stresses and challenges that comes with being a doctor, I cannot think of a job that is more rewarding or satisfying. It is a privilege to care for people in some of their darkest and most challenging moments.

I come from a small and close-knit Italian-Australian family. My grandparents migrated from Italy in the late 1950s to begin a new life in Australia. They made many sacrifices for their children to have a prosperous life here in this wonderful country and I am fortunate enough to reap the benefits as their grandchild.

Through my position as Equity and Wellbeing Officer on the Australian Law Students’ Association, I am about to release the first Mental Health and Wellbeing Publication which seeks to elevate law student voices on the importance of looking after our mental wellbeing. This is something I am extremely passionate about. I hope this Publication opens the lines of communication for other students who may also be in my position and reduces the stigma surrounding mental health in the legal profession.

When I returned to university, it was to enrol in psychology. Juggling chronic health issues, disability, and caring roles, it took me 6.5 years to complete my undergraduate degree part time. I graduated from my undergraduate degree knowing that I wanted, more than anything, to be a psychologist.

Coming from an economically disadvantaged background, I knew I needed to enter the workforce to afford to pursue my Masters. While I worked in non-clinical roles, I leveraged my passion for psychology into roles in state-wide mental health and disability policy and strategic planning. I also had the privilege to work with Aboriginal leaders on initiatives to improve social and emotional wellbeing. While I found this work interesting and fulfilling, my opportunities to work alongside senior clinical staff just reinforced my desire to be engaging in that kind of practice.

I have spent most of the past decade chasing culture, beautiful landscapes and working with children in a variety of contexts along the way. I enrolled in Curtin’s Sport and Exercise Science undergrad with my sights set on Physiotherapy. I had a newfound value of health and wanted to help people engage meaningfully in their lives through pain free movement. I have spent considerable time researching the scope of practice, engaging in work experience, and developing a more holistic understanding of the field.

As I moved into working within school camp settings, I witnessed the effects of children having limited exposure to physical activity at a younger age. I think that eradicating barriers to physical activity and exercise in children is the most impactful and cost-effective preventative measure in promoting positive health outcomes, and wellbeing of a community.

From an early age, I discovered my love for psychology and helping others improve their mental health and wellbeing. Through my undergraduate studies, I made an effort to volunteer and work in a range of roles that allowed me to meet, help and learn from a wide range of people and communities. My desire to strive for registration as a psychologist has never faltered and the wonderful experience I have been given through this scholarship will allow me to attend various personal and career development courses outside of university.

I plan to engage in courses that teach me techniques from different therapeutic approaches, such as Emotion Focussed Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and Trauma Focussed Yoga. Attending these courses will not only expand my knowledge to help others, but I’m confident will help me to be a better version of myself personally and professionally.

Since my undergraduate clinical experience at King Edwards Memorial Hospital, I knew pelvic health was an area of physiotherapy I wanted to peruse. I pursued this interest, enrolling in the master’s program where I am majoring in Continence and Women’s Health.

Pelvic Health physios form an important part of the multidisciplinary team, who treat a diverse range of pelvic floor dysfunctions across the lifespan, including but not limited to, managing bladder and bowel health, sexual difficulties, and pelvic pain.

I am located in regional WA and recognise a huge need and scarcity of pelvic health physiotherapy in the area. I am thoroughly enjoying being able to offer and deliver this service here.

I have always had a passion for Caring for Country. To me, Caring for Country encompasses much more than environmental sustainability and management. Caring for Country also means a strong link to cultural identity. Being able to re-connect to my Aboriginal cultural heritage through the engagement of working with Country allows myself to grow, not only as an individual, but also as part of a wider community.

Caring for Country is a multifaceted paradigm, dependent on a whole range of reciprocal and holistic underpinnings. This is why Environmental Science is my chosen field, because it allows me to engage with Country, to study Country, and to help Country – and this is important for me, because this forms part of my story.

Through studying Environmental Science, I will have a scientific understanding about how Country works, and this will allow me to design systems that compliment both Indigenous and Western scientific models. I believe this is very important for Australia because it encourages a constructive and adaptable change that bridges Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge systems, and I believe both Indigenous systems and Western systems have essential elements that need to be included in working models with reference to Caring for Country.

I am in the final stages of my undergraduate degree, majoring in Anthropology, Sociology and Geography. I feel that in the field of Social Science, engaging in qualitative research is an opportunity to understand social problems and develop ways for communities to implement preventative measures and strategies for improved outcomes regarding planning for healthy, engaged, vibrant and connected communities.

The work I have done so far has developed my interest in community sustainability practices – socially, environmentally, and economically.

I live in an area of high growth and have seen rapid change and ensuing pressures within my own periphery. I am a parent and want to be part of positive outcomes for the future generations. I am planning to continue with an Honours or Masters research project that allows me to immerse in a community issue to better understand it and find pathways towards growth and solutions that fit with the ideals that I see as important.