A McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship led recent UWA graduate Sri Trotman to pursue a graduate role assisting women in the Western Australian community to access high quality and culturally safe health and wellness services.
Sri, who recently completed a Political Science, International Relations and Asian Studies degree, completed her internship at Women’s Health and Family Services (WFHS), a WA-based not-for-profit offering an inclusive and nurturing health care environment for all women, their families and communities.
Sri was drawn to the internship program through a desire to contribute to the local community.
“I wanted to make a difference in my community and experience what a career in a community-oriented organisation would look like,” said Sri.
Sri’s internship had a strong social media and marketing focus – something she was previously unfamiliar with - however she quickly found herself flourishing in the role.
“My internship opened me to a new field of work that I hadn’t considered. I hadn’t studied marketing or communication, but this placement allowed me the opportunity to discover that I really enjoy it,” said Sri.
Sri gained competency in a range of digital communication platforms to share information about WFHS and enable more women in the WA community to access support through their services, which include medical services, counselling, drug and alcohol support, domestic violence support, mental health services and more.
The internship reaffirmed Sri’s desire to actively support local communities and follow a career that reflects this ethos. A highlight was seeing her work for WHFS being published on their communication platforms.
“Seeing my work become public was a memorable moment for me. It was the first time I felt that I had actually contributed towards my organisation and that they trusted my work and skill,” said Sri.
The WFHS team were so impressed with Sri’s work in raising awareness of their services that they encouraged her to apply for a digital communications graduate role, which she was successful in obtaining.
“I applied and ended up being chosen for the position. I believe that my internship greatly helped me to develop skills such as adaptability, communication skills, organisational skills, and how to navigate a new workplace.”