I love working with people and my Mum was a nurse, so the opportunity to apply for nursing came up in a hospital based program at GV Health in the early ‘80s.
I'm pretty passionate about Shepparton as a place, so I stayed.
I did my training, and continued for 37 years. I ended up taking on the community liaison officer role at GV Health until 2018, when it was time for a change.
So this little advertisement came in the paper for a manager in a community centre in Mooroopna.
It didn't say much, but I thought ‘oh, that looks interesting'.
I got the position, and for the past two and a half years I've been working here at the Mooroopna Educational Activity Centre.
Why are you passionate about your work?
I love the community work we do. I love working with people of all descriptions... people with mental health problems, disability, aged, youth.
It's a fantastic community, a very engaged community.
I love the scope. I'm always thinking what's the next thing that we can do? How else can we help our community?
What change do you hope to create?
Continue the great work that other people involved have done, but also to put my own mark on it.
I'd really like to be able to have this place firmly imprinted on people's minds locally, that people feel a welcoming feeling when they hear it.
Have you experienced disadvantage because you are a woman?
You experience it every day.
There's no doubt there's a gender imbalance.
Sometimes it's quite subtle, and mostly, you can let it go through to the keeper, because it's not worth the fight or the battle.
But there's times when I won't tolerate it.
When I first started nursing, you had to seek permission from the matron to get married.
If you got pregnant, whether married or not, you had to leave.
What does being a woman mean to you?
It's the most fantastic thing being a woman.
I don't know why we're considered the weaker sex, because quite frankly, we should be lauded for our abilities.
There's nothing greater than the ability to bring new life into the world. And only women can do that.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learnt throughout the years?
There's always another perspective.
Be measured in your thought processes, because lots of people struggle.
Kindness is a really good skill to have - to be genuinely kind and considerate, and I'd like to think that's who I am.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
It brings to the forefront women's issues - and I think that's really important. They become part of our vocabulary, so we start talking about it.
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