Losing her younger brother to a brain tumour inspired Haley Sharp’s medicine goals

“When we lost my brother, I wanted to stop that happening to other kids like him”.

Laidley State High School student Haley Sharp at the LVRC chamber. PHOTO: Ali Kuchel

The past 10 years of Haley Sharp’s life have been filled with memories of inspirational doctors who battled furiously to save her younger brother’s life.

Haley spent a year of her childhood visiting her brother in hospital, where she watched doctors and nurses help not only her baby brother, but a ward of sick children.

When she was just six years old, Haley’s brother died.

But what the doctors did for him during his times of need has inspired Haley to pursue a career in medicine, with the goal to specialise in paediatrics and neurology.

“(The doctors and nurses) would come into his room and I found what they were doing was very interesting,” Haley sad.

“It made me want to go in that pathway. When we lost my brother, I wanted to stop that happening to other kids like him.

“I wanted to go out and play all the time, and it was really sad to come in past these kids who were sick, they didn’t want to get out of bed.

“It’s definitely been the driving force for my academic pursuits.”

Laidley State High School student Haley Sharp, with Lockyer Valley Regional Council mayor Tanya Milligan. PHOTO: Ali Kuchel

Haley, a Year 11 student at Laidley State High School, has spent much of her school life inspiring and leading her fellow classmates.

In Year 6 at Laidley State School, she held the title of school captain, and since Year 8 has been a care captain and the voice for her homegroup class.

But before she hits the books at university, the bubbly 16-year-old has one more school goal – to lead the Laidley students as school captain in 2022.

Wanting to learn about leadership, she jumped at the opportunity to shadow the region’s most influential leader – Lockyer Valley mayor Tanya Milligan.

Haley spent last Thursday shadowing Cr Milligan, and said she discovered leadership was about being true to yourself and not letting opinions from others get you down.

“I learned to really put yourself on the same level as everyone else. Really support the underdog and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else,” Haley said.

“I wanted to build the leadership skills that I thought would come along with this experience, and hopefully apply those skills I’ve learned into a leadership position at the school next year,” she said.

Haley is part of the University of Queensland young achievers’ program and is part of the Laidley State High School band where she plays the saxophone and flute.