“My AIEF Scholarship to Pymble provided me with access to facilities like well-equipped libraries, dedicated tutors, and coaches who nurtured my passion for sports. It wasn’t just about the resources; it was about the people who believed in me.”
Libby completed Year 12 on an AIEF Scholarship in 2011 at Pymble Ladies’ College in Sydney.
Hi, I’m Libby, a proud Zenadth Kes woman from the Samsep clan on Erub Island in the Eastern area of the Torres Straits, with kinship ties to Badtjala country, K’gari and Harvey Bay.
Education has been a big part of my life. My Mum and Dad wanted better and more for me than they had for themselves. When I went to boarding school in Sydney at Pymble Ladies College, they jointly went on a journey to invest in me and allow other people to invest in their daughter’s future.
AIEF and my boarding school journey gave me an opportunity to access resources and support that weren’t afforded to me living in regional and remote areas.
Pymble was amazing, but it was so far from anything I’d ever experienced. My family put structures in place to keep me well, safe and successful.
I had a support system around me that set high expectations and knew how to encourage me to achieve those expectations. My Aunties and Uncles joined my parents in supporting me saying, ‘we’re going to guide you and walk alongside you in this process’.
My AIEF Scholarship to Pymble provided me with access to facilities like well-equipped libraries, dedicated tutors, and coaches who nurtured my passion for sports. It wasn’t just about the resources; it was about the people who believed in me.
Other people saw something in me that I hadn’t quite seen in myself yet.
After Pymble, I went to university. I didn’t end up taking my original path, but throughout it all I had my family and people in the AIEF network telling me to aim high. I started to really believe in myself.
Today, I have a Justice degree, have finished a postgraduate Public Sector Management course and now I’m doing a Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion.
I have a strong desire to continue my formal education alongside my cultural education, exploring opportunities within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, economic development and social justice.
Contributing to the community is big for me. I’m passionate about lifting expectations and creating equitable opportunities to build capacity, families, Aboriginal communities and future leaders.
I see my role as focusing on solutions. I create solutions, because I was afforded a good opportunity, and if I don’t do something about the problems my community is facing, if these kids are not getting access to education and opportunities, then I am wasting the education that was gifted to me.
Your investment in me is now me investing in my community.
Your donation is not just investing in a young person and their education, it is an investment that’s going to change a family, a community and the world. It’s a stepping stone and a building block for the next generation.
