Stacey
Anderson, Social Worker
Read this article "From Forklift Driver to
Social Work" as reported in the
Catholic Voice
As a teenager, Stacey Anderson knew she wanted to help people. Social work
seemed like a dream to her, a way to make a real difference in people’s
lives.
But growing up in Brisbane suburb Logan Central, one of the lowest
socio-economic areas for indigenous Australians, her chances of completing
enough education to do this were low.
As one of 10 children being raised by a single mother, Ms Anderson had to
drop out of school before finishing year 12 to get a job and help take care
of her family.
She worked as a
forklift driver
at a factory in Brisbane for more than 16 years before deciding to move to
Canberra in 2000. She said the change was mainly so she could have a career
for herself.
“If I had stayed in Brisbane, I wouldn’t have had as many opportunities as I
do now,” Ms Anderson said. “I moved [to Canberra] because I had a goal. I
didn’t want to just work in a factory; I wanted to really achieve something
in my life.”
Ms Anderson got a job in the public service and then, in 2010, was offered
an opportunity to further her education through
Relationships Australia’s
Indigenous Pathways program.
This allowed her, along with 15 other indigenous people from the Canberra
region, to study an 18-month course and gain a Diploma of Counselling.
After graduating with a diploma, Ms Anderson was offered another opportunity
- to enrol at Australian Catholic University
and study social work.
“Social work was always a passion and a dream,” Ms Anderson said. “It’s been
in the back of my mind, I’ve always had a vision. Everything just fell into
place for me then and I was able to start studying at ACU.”
After applying to study social work, Ms Anderson became one of only five
people nationally to win a
scholarship from the Department of Human Services.
“I’m a Department of Human Services indigenous scholar now, so I study and
am still paid my wage from the department,” she said. “It means I have that
financial support to be able to study full time.”
Ms Anderson started a Bachelor of Social Work at the ACU Canberra campus
this year [2012]. Through the Indigenous Pathways program she was able to have her
Diploma of Counselling count towards her degree so she can finish faster.
She also has lots of support from within the university, particularly from
the indigenous unit and its head Dr Christine Fejo-King.
“She is such an inspiration to me,” Ms Anderson said.
“She’s really worked hard to give me so many more opportunities. She’s now
invited me to go to the
International Federation
of Social Workers' conference in Malaysia this November (2012) with her,
which is really exciting.
“When you’ve got a really good indigenous coordinator that supports you and
backs you like that, giving you these development opportunities as an
indigenous student, it really means a lot.”
Ms Anderson is currently gaining hands-on experience in a work placement
with Centrelink.
“I think helping people has always been important to me,” she said. “[At
Centrelink] you deal with such a range of things, like homelessness, youth
at risk, domestic violence. I just want to help as much as I can.”
She leaves soon to go to a remote indigenous community in Western Australia
to do social work placement.
“Helping indigenous Australians obviously means a lot to me, being
indigenous. That’s something I would want to focus on when I’m finished the
degree,” she said. “I think for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people, having a social worker with an indigenous background can really
help.”
After she completes the degree, she hopes to work for the Department of
Human Services as a social worker, to give back to them after they have
helped her so much, and continue to advocate for indigenous people,
especially in education.
“For me, as a teenager, I wasn’t interested in education,” she said. “It was
just about getting a job and surviving, not about studying. Education is so
important and I want to promote that.”
How
do you to promote Social Work as a career?
Primary
Middle
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Literacy
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability
1. Read through the material presented here and about the
job of Social Worker.
2. Once you have read through the material, collate it
and put it into PowToon.
3. Show this presentation to your class.
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