Education is key to Aboriginal empowerment

‘I stuck it out because I wanted to make my mum and family proud, and hopefully inspire my younger cousins to commit to their education, no matter what’

Yamba's Monique Laurie.

ONE of Monique Laurie's favourite places in the world is Pippi Beach at Yamba.

She has many fond childhood memories of spending hours on the beach with her family - walking and learning how to worm and find periwinkles.

Keeping her culture strong is important for the 18-year-old Yaegl/Widjabul woman of the Bundjalung Nation.

"Catching beach worms is a real skill to master but my people have been doing it for thousands of years. The tide must be low and our timing perfect. We use a bit of dead fish or meat inside a bag to attract the worms. We need to be gentle and patient," she laughs.

Patience is one of the many attributes that's seen Monique successfully make the transition from Yamba to high school in Sydney and now, her first year at the University of NSW.

She attended the Kambala School in Rose Bay as a Yalari scholarship student, was the school's first Aboriginal prefect, and believes that education plays a vital role in uplifting young people of all cultural backgrounds.

"The shift from Yamba to Rose Bay was huge, and I was very homesick at times," she said. "But I stuck it out because I wanted to make my mum and family proud, and hopefully inspire my younger cousins to commit to their education, no matter what."

 

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Monique now shares her youth expertise as a member of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). The YAC provides advice to NSWALC on issues impacting young Aboriginal people and develops youth-led, community-based strategies to respond to those issues.

"We need to break the silence on emotional health issues in rural and remote areas and make the most of community and educational support for young Aboriginal people," she said.

Monique's also a member of the Birrigan Gargle Local Aboriginal Land Council in Yamba and encourages all young Aboriginal people to play an active role in shaping their destinies.

"I joined the LALC as soon as I turned 18 because I want to be active in empowering our people. My great grandmother Vivian Lawrie-King always pushed for land rights, and many other Aboriginal women have worked against the odds to stand up for what they believe in."

And Monique is adamant education is her path.

"I want to continue at university and maybe do post graduate work in law. Create programs with a mental health focus to help empower young Aboriginal people to be the best people they can be. The sky's the limit, really. We just need to reach out."

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