UWA Arts student, Emma Young, applied for a McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship because she wanted to develop her research skills through a project that she found engaging and worthwhile.
Emma was placed as a research intern with Enable WA, which provides quality, individualised support to people living with disability so they can live the life of their choice.
As part of this role, Emma researched the potential models of support available to the organisation’s clients and to determine whether any of these could be implemented and sustained in the south west region.
“While Enable provides incredible formal support, its aim is to help its clients in establishing informal support gained through a close-knit community,” Emma explains.
Originally from Collie, Emma found the experience of working with the Bunbury-based not-for-profit a welcome return to the community-minded focus of the country town she was raised in.
“I definitely missed the sense of a small country town community when I moved to Perth and didn’t know anyone. I think this has strengthened my ability to identify what conditions help to create a feeling of belonging and make a community strong,” Emma says.
As part of her internship, Emma produced a report of her findings that was submitted to the Enable team and presented at the staff meeting.
On her report’s recommendations, Enable has established a committee to focus specifically on helping clients to build strong community connections.
Here are 5 reasons Emma would recommend a McCusker Centre for Citizenship to other students:
- You get the satisfaction of knowing that what you’re doing is directly having a positive effect on people’s lives.
- It will give you a chance to explore alternative career pathways and try new things
- You’ll meet great people
- You can experience a professional workplace environment
- It’s fun
The McCusker Centre for Citizenship offers internships to all UWA students throughout the year – Semester 1, Winter, Semester 2 and Summer. See here for more information: