Barambah PaCE<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\nMelissa Martin smiles when I suggest she must be highly motivated to do a law degree and Masters in Social Work.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr very lazy,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cI like the student life.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy friends say, \u2018You need to give up uni life and go get yourself a real job\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the welfare reforms being looked at now will have such an impact on people,\u201d Melissa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all filters down to affect everyone.\u00a0I\u2019d like to influence that type of policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Melissa doesn\u2019t want her decisions to be purely based on information she has read.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Melissa completed the first practical placement of her degree with the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
She has also been involved with international community development projects in a Thailand orphanage and Peru villages in South America.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned there\u2019s a lot of complexity in the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so many facets that influence a person\u2019s life: school, community, government policy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
It has changed her.<\/p>\n
When she left Trinity Lutheran College on the Gold Coast, Melissa was focussed on leading a glamorous courtroom life depicted on TV shows.<\/p>\n
Now she sees herself helping others in a more practical sense.<\/span><\/p>\nShe\u2019s enjoying her time in Cherbourg and will continue to work there until November to become a fully qualified social worker.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s scary,\u201d Melissa said with a smile.\u00a0\u201cI will have to get a real job and pay off those HECS bills.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cBut we do have so many opportunities here in Australia to be the people we want to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so many education opportunities; not just uni.\u00a0There are trade schools, dance schools \u2026\u00a0There\u2019s everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cParents need to encourage their children because education does give you a better future; full of choices.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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