Curtin scholarship clears a pathway for healing
Moorditj Yorga scholarship recipient, Renna Gayde.
A Curtin student who spent years working through her healing alone is watching her path unfold into a career helping others heal their trauma.
At the end of this year, Renna Gayde, a Walbuja Woman from the Yuin Nation in New South Wales, will start her career in social work, with the goal of healing the relationship between the social work profession and First Nations Peoples.
Renna says that after family violence led to her being displaced from her home at age 13, she had some difficult dealings with social workers, and felt that she never had a genuine opportunity to attend high school, let alone university.
鈥淎 few years ago I was invited to visit 麻豆直播, and when I stepped into the Centre for Aboriginal Studies, I felt that I鈥檇 come home,鈥� she says.
Renna completed an Indigenous Tertiary Enabling Course before gaining a Moorditj Yorga scholarship from Curtin and commencing her studies in social work.
鈥淚 lost my partner nine years ago, and as a sole parent the scholarship allowed me to breathe. I think that worrying about money reduces our capacity to be our best selves and to engage fully with our opportunities.
鈥淕aining the scholarship increased my confidence and validated that I was on the right path. I never believed that I鈥檇 go to university, but it鈥檚 proven to be an investment in myself, my children and my community.鈥�
Moorditj Yorga means 鈥榮trong woman鈥� in the Noongar language of Western Australia, and it is a fitting description for Renna鈥檚 journey. She explains that her educational journey to becoming a social worker has involved pulling the threads of her life together, and that she is 鈥渦nder construction鈥� in building her 鈥榩rofessional鈥� identity.
鈥淚 do feel guided by my old people, and I鈥檓 grateful to the Noongar Elders who have wrapped their arms around me. I know that when I go to bed grateful and wake up prepared, I鈥檓 exactly where I need to be.
鈥淚鈥檓 following my path as it unfolds, but social work is my calling 鈥� to create positive change, particularly for our women and children.”
To learn more about Moorditj Yorga and other scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, .
This article was originally written and published by The West on 3 July 2023.
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