Falcon woman young Aboriginal student of the year

Ashley Dadliffe (22) received the award at Challenger Institute’s Student Awards Ceremony in Fremantle.

The ceremony recognised the achievements of more than 70 students, as well as five major award winners in the categories Apprentice of the Year, Trainee of the Year, Vocational Student of the Year, VET in Schools Student of the Year and Aboriginal Student of the Year.

As part of a Certificate IV in Business, Ms Dadliffe completed a Challenger traineeship at NidjallaWaangan Mia, an Aboriginal health and wellbeing centre in Mandurah.

She said working as a receptionist at the health centre had taught her to interact well with customers with diverse health and social needs.

‘Doing my course as a trainee has given me the chance to develop my skills on a daily basis, which reinforces my learning,’ she said.

‘Being a young Aboriginal woman, working in a health centre has made me aware of the problems facing Aboriginal people, but it has also made me aware of the government initiatives to help Aboriginals.’

Ms Dadliffe said her goal was to raise awareness among Aboriginal people of the health programs they could access and the reasons why they should.

‘If I can help any Aboriginal person increase their life expectancy and enjoy a better quality of life, I think I have helped my community,’ she said.