Taking time out from your career is
both good and bad…
I’m lucky enough to have a supportive
workplace where I can step back into
my nursing role when I return home.
I think the benefit of being young
and experiencing life-abroad has the
potential to make you more employable.
Life experience is becoming just as
important as practical experience.
My time at USQ taught me much
about continuing even when things
are challenging…
I studied at USQ because I knew
choosing a science degree would be
difficult without having done science or
maths in high school. USQ was a smaller
university, where I wouldn’t get lost in
the crowds and I graduated in 2012 with
a Bachelor of Nursing. After graduation
it was hard to get a nursing role due
to budget cuts in the industry but 18
months later I ended up in a great
nursing role within a private facility. I
was very lucky to be fast-tracked with
my training, and even got to do a
managing stint last year in Cunnamulla!
Working alongside broken and
desperate communities carries a lot
of complexity…
Studying nursing taught me how to
quickly problem-solve and be creative in
my approaches to helping others.
When the earthquake hit I honestly
didn’t know what was happening.
It was insane!
At first I thought that the shaking
would have happened only in my
suburb. It wasn’t until my Nepali sister
was able to come home, that I realized
just how far the devastation had hit.
Words can never describe just how lifealtering living through an earthquake is.
I’ve been volunteering locally and
abroad since I was very young.
I’ve always enjoyed the process
of walking alongside people, and
learning something new about the
world I live in…
My first trip to volunteer in Nepal, was
the first step to being lead ‘home.’ I
can’t imagine any other life trajectory
where I wouldn’t be working, thinking,
dreaming about one day moving
overseas, hopefully one day to Nepal.
My advice for people who want to
volunteer- is do your research!!!
I came to the Children’s Welfare Centre
(CWC) 7 years ago with Rotaract for
a 25 day tour I built friendships with
the local people that run CWC and
they have become like a family to me! I
suggest researching local groups serving
in an area you want to work. Make
sure that they aren’t trying to make a
business out of you (it’s hard to believe
but it’s true!). Most of all, remember
the trip is not all about ‘saving’
people, rather it’s allowing yourself
to be broken open to humanity...
Learning things about yourself and our
world. Dedicate yourself to making
relationships, not building. That is the
best way to approach it.
You can follow Ally’s
journey in her blog
Stories from a year
of being…
READ
ALLY’S BLOG
WORDS: TONI DOBBYN – USQ Alumni
IMAGES: SUPPLIED BY ALLY