By Mikayla van Loon
For aspiring healthcare professionals undertaking lengthy degrees, placements and many hours of study all to pursue their passion of helping people, a little help can go a long way.
That is the premise and intention of Inspiro’s tertiary health scholarship program – awarding grants to deserving, community focused and academically exceeding students from the Yarra Ranges.
This year was no exception, with Inspiro awarding two scholarships, one for $12,500 to Lilydale’s Tamara McDonald, and the other for $10,000 to Kallista’s Ebony Huidobro-Hoare.
Inspiro’s chief executive officer Sue Sestan said in the past scholarships have been awarded to three or four recipients but this year the community health service wanted to make more of an impact in students’ lives.
“We believe that as a healthcare organisation, we actually have a responsibility for supporting future workforce in the health industry,” she said.
In her fifth of seven years of a psychology degree, Tamara, who gave up her corporate job in banking to embark on this path, said her ultimate dream would be to work with children.
“Ideally, I would like to work helping families and children, either with mental health or with navigating, perhaps schooling,” she said.
“There’s a lot of work in psychology around assessments, not necessarily autism assessments, but just to help tailor schooling. We know a lot more now that it’s not one size fits all, and every child is different.
“I think there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in how children are individualised throughout school and supported. I think that being able to draw out children’s strengths and then help teachers or people in their lives to support them the best that we can.”
As a mum of four children herself, Tamara knows this first hand, not only through her studies but seeing it play out in her own life.
Tamara said the support of her family and friends has been instrumental in her ability to take a new step and change careers.
This was evident in their presence at the award ceremony on Wednesday 16 April.
Ebony, who is in her second of four year physiotherapy degree, travels to La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus to complete her studies.
“I’m having to travel up and back to Bendigo every week, so this (scholarship will) definitely help me in terms of just the basics. Living on campus is really expensive and I’m currently at one of the local football clubs, helping as a trainer so I’ve got to be back home for that,” she said.
“And then, especially next year, it starts ramping up in terms of placement hours, so a lot of unpaid placement. It’ll definitely help with that.”
As someone who always had a “strong passion for health”, Ebony knew healthcare was the right fit.
“I was thinking about medicine or physio. I really liked the connection with your patients that you have as a physio, especially in a post surgical setting or anything severe, any long term chronic conditions. I really liked how they were able to monitor and manage and have a bit of control with that as well.
“So I decided to do physio, which was a really long path for me. So I finished high school, did two years of Health Sciences, and now I’ve gotten into physio. I’ve got four years in total.”
Wanting to help and support people who have come through a heart attack or a lung transplant, or kids with cystic fibrosis rather than being in a clinical setting, Ebony said her dream scenario would be to work in a hospital three days a week and then have her own clinic to continue patient care outside their hospital stay.
“I can be in a very community based setting and I’d love to keep up in that sports world as well on weekends. I’m really enjoying how I’m able to influence so many people who wouldn’t normally have access to care,” she said.
The tertiary health scholarships this year celebrated 25 years since their inception, first starting under the Lilydale Community Hospital and then taken on board by Inspiro in 2006.
Inspiro community advisory group member and inaugural chair Hamish Russell, who first initiated the scholarship program, said the awards are “something very special for our shire and for our people”.
“I don’t know any other health organisation that has committed itself to the future this way, the way Inspiro has,” he said.
Mr Russell commented that not only do recipients showcase incredible academic achievements, they also give back to their community, this year providing an astounding number of candidates who were worthy of the scholarship.
“Almost everyone we shortlisted for this award in other years might well have won one of the awards. That’s how good the competition was, and that’s always been my dream,” he said.
Ebony’s chosen path in volunteering and giving back to her community has been through sport, first as head coach of the Monbulk Marlins swimming team for five years and now as trainer for a football club.
Tamara also helps out at her children’s various sporting clubs but her volunteering was mostly done at Caladenia Dementia Care in Mooroolbark but since starting her masters, she has had to postpone her time there.
“With everything going on, I would leave there just feeling the top of the world. I just feel so humbled, and I just absolutely loved it. I was always in such a good mood afterwards. It really gives you a really good perspective on what’s important in life,” she said.
Over the 25 years of the scholarship, Mr Russell said around $225,000 has been granted to students of all different disciplines.
“I’m delighted to have been associated with it all this time and I can’t think of a nicer day in the year,” he said.
