Building Aspirations and Awareness for Indigenous Students

St Joseph’s Regional College, Port Macquarie, students attend the Port Macquarie University Aspire Camp, an educational, residential camp for senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to explore their tertiary options at Macquarie University.

Six students from St Joseph’s Regional College, Port Macquarie, attended the Port Macquarie University Aspire Camp, an educational, residential camp for senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to explore their tertiary options at Macquarie University.

Students experienced activities that allow a taste of what their dream degree would involve, meet external organisation representatives and get involved in cultural activities. Students also participated in an in-depth view of a University faculty that the students chose based on their interests.

The Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council established seven priority areas to increase the participation of Indigenous people in universities. One of the priorities included encouraging universities to work with schools to build pathways into higher education for Indigenous students.

Year 12 student Matthew Gleeson said that the highlight of the experience was the science faculty convention. Matthew explained that he could, 'ask questions regarding the degrees represented by the professors and students running the stations, or could just chat about Uni life.'

Such an experience allowed Matthew to understand the possibilities and particularly diversity of degrees within the science faculty. Matthew stated that this provided, 'a comforting assurance regarding my post-school options. If I did choose to go to university, I would have the peace of mind that I am not locked into a course that I might not enjoy.'

'Also, that uni life may in fact, be my prefered life post-high school, and now, Macquarie Uni is definitely my dream school if I choose to go down the Uni path,' added Matthew.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students can apply for various programs at Macquarie University to receive the preparation they need to succeed at school, develop their cultural identity, and have the resilience to overcome life’s challenges and emerge as one of tomorrow's leaders.