What is your current job title and role?
I am a Workforce Coordinator at Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC). My role focuses on educating health professionals about the appropriate treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
What do you love most about working for QAIHC?
It is an honour to be part of an organisation that works toward improving the lives of others. My career has allowed me to draw attention to the problems surrounding indigenous and rural health in Australia, and I’ve used my role at QAIHC to raise awareness of this cause. The more exposure people have to these issues, the more likely they are to want to understand and create change.
What are your strongest memories from your time at school?
I still have my blazer pocket as a keepsake from my time at BGGS, and when I drive past the Main Campus I am reminded of the best days of my life. For me, it was the connections I made at BGGS that had the most significant impact on my life. The students were so lovely and I really enjoyed living in the ‘now’. I am a believer of not worrying too much about the future and living in the present. I was certainly able to do that at BGGS and made the most of the opportunities at hand.
Since leaving BGGS, I’ve had the opportunity to work, and sit on a number of boards, with fellow Grammar women. It is lovely to reconnect with these women and work together to drive positive change.
What was the most significant impact that your time at BGGS had on your life after school?
I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I was younger. It wasn’t until a vocational career day in the gym, where a number of different universities and employees visited the School, that I became interested in nursing.
I often say my life has been a series of coincidences. For example, I attended BGGS on an OPAL scholarship and didn’t find out until years later when I was on the board of General Practice Training Queensland with former BGGS Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr Mary Mahoney, that her father, Konrad Hirschfeld, funded my scholarship to attend the School.
Coincidence or not, these events have all led me to where I am now, and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the education I received at BGGS.
What would you say is your greatest achievement since leaving school?
I feel privileged to have had my work recognised on numerous occasions. In 2011, I was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for my service to the healthcare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and to the nursing community. This was a special moment, and so too was winning a South-East Queensland NAIDOC Week Award. Being recognised by the local Aboriginal community was a precious moment for me.
To be honest though, my greatest achievement is the relationships I’ve developed throughout my career. I’ve worked alongside so many wonderful people, many of whom I am still friends with today. We all have a common goal and the power that comes from recognising our responsibility to society and walking together is profound.
Mary Martin, centre, with classmates Josephine Barnes (Williamson, 1970) (left) and Jan Hamilton-Smith (Stark, 1970) (right)
