Take a chance on me

The 18-year-old from Thornlie is deaf and requires an interpreter who understands both Australian and Irish sign language, which makes finding a job and a tertiary education difficult.

While Aine aspires to be an artist and hopes to complete a course in animation at Tafe, she would not have access to a one-on-one interpreter or a scribe that she would require to take her exams.

Aine arrived in Australia three years ago from Ireland, where she attended a school for deaf children in Dublin, and enrolled at the Belmont College Inclusive Education Centre to help her learn Australian sign language (Auslan).

She recently completed a one-year work placement at the South East Metropolitan Language Development Centre in Cloverdale where she worked in a classroom of pre-primary students every Friday under the supervision of teacher Vivien Baxter and painted an ocean-themed mural.

Mrs Baxter said Aine had outstanding artistic ability and delighted students by turning their daily fruit platter into a work of art and teaching them how to sign.

‘Children at the centre benefited greatly from the experience, Aine has been very good with them,’ Mrs Baxter said.

‘It’s not just her ability to draw, but her personality. The children were drawn to her.’

Aine said loved everything about art from drawing the mural to making short films in her spare time.

‘I’m think I’d love to draw cartoons and animations (for a job).’

Aine said she hoped potential employers could look past her disability to give her the opportunity to work because she was just like any other person.