September 2, 2014
by Marcus Priaulx
Barambah PaCE
Melissa Martin smiles when I suggest she must be highly motivated to do a law degree and Masters in Social Work.
“Or very lazy,” she said. “I like the student life.
“My friends say, ‘You need to give up uni life and go get yourself a real job’.”
Melissa, 24, has enjoyed socialising at the Queensland University of Technology at Kelvin Grove in Brisbane for the past seven years while studying subjects she enjoys with like-minded people.
She originally did a law degree and then moved into social work and is looking towards a career in international aid or government policy making.
“All the welfare reforms being looked at now will have such an impact on people,” Melissa said.
“It all filters down to affect everyone. I’d like to influence that type of policy.”
However, Melissa doesn’t want her decisions to be purely based on information she has read.
She’s keen to get a tonne of life experience and is currently doing the last practical leg of her Masters Degree with the Barambah Local Justice Group (BLJG) in Cherbourg.
Melissa arrived in the town on July 21 and has helped organise a Warriors Camp for youth and supported BLJG co-ordinator Indra Matzner and her administrative assistant Emma Stewart to provide court support to clients.
Melissa completed the first practical placement of her degree with the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services on the Gold Coast.
She has also been involved with international community development projects in a Thailand orphanage and Peru villages in South America.
“I’ve learned there’s a lot of complexity in the world,” she said.
“There’s so many facets that influence a person’s life: school, community, government policy…”
It has changed her.
When she left Trinity Lutheran College on the Gold Coast, Melissa was focussed on leading a glamorous courtroom life depicted on TV shows.
Now she sees herself helping others in a more practical sense.
She’s enjoying her time in Cherbourg and will continue to work there until November to become a fully qualified social worker.
“It’s scary,” Melissa said with a smile. “I will have to get a real job and pay off those HECS bills.
“But we do have so many opportunities here in Australia to be the people we want to be.
“There’s so many education opportunities; not just uni. There are trade schools, dance schools … There’s everything.
“Parents need to encourage their children because education does give you a better future; full of choices.”
