Divya Bappoo graduated from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2021 with a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Applied Finance and has been pursuing positive social impact through her career since.
During the final semester of her masters, Divya undertook an internship with Social Ventures Australia (SVA) through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship.
“The work that SVA does is ultimately aimed at alleviating disadvantage in Australia and helping communities thrive. My internship at SVA helped me understand how I can translate my passion for making meaningful change in the world into a career,” Divya said.
“I began my professional career as a graduate at Ernst and Young in the Infrastructure Advisory team, where I had a focus on the social and human services sector, an interest that was sparked by my internship. To further pursue this line of work, I am now back at Social Ventures Australia.”
In her role as an Analyst with SVA, Divya engages with government and not-for-profit clients to make decisions based on evidence. She is passionate about tackling difficult issues in the social and human services space, particularly family and domestic violence.
“In my work I am able to strive to influence and inform policies and systems to create better outcomes, particularly for those in vulnerable population groups,” she said.
Divya shared her advice for UWA students thinking about undertaking a McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship:
“Embrace the work of the organisation you are matched with, they are the experts at what they do and your supervisor and colleagues have such a wealth of knowledge.
“Build genuine relationships with the people you intern with – you never know, you may end up back in the organisation at some point in your career, like I did!”