Isabella Shearman is a proud Gomeroi and Wiradjuri woman who recently completed her studies for a Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) in 2022 and will be part of the Oorala Sashing Ceremony when she attends Graduation at UNE on Friday 28th April, 2023.
Isabella successfully enrolled into a Bachelor of Social Work, through the early entry scheme at the end of HSC in 2018. Isabella spent her first year on campus at the University of New England, where she connected with other students through the Oorala Centre and found the extra support from staff when needed alongside a peaceful place to study and access resources.
After that first year, Isabella returned home to commence full-time work in social work related fields while continuing her studies online. She was employed as an Aboriginal Specialist Worker for the Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service (Oxley Police District). Then at the end of 2020, she was employed as an Aboriginal Child Protection caseworker at the Department of Communities and Justice and followed that at Tamworth Family Support Services as a caseworker in the Youth Hope program.
When asked how she was able to balance work and study, she said "I felt well supported. I could reflect on my experiences working in the community and connect this back to the learning I was doing. Because of the online aspect of studies I could re-watch the tutorials I might have missed and access Q & A sessions. With a 1000 hours of work placements across the course, the support of Oorala Centre and UNE helped make this something to look forward to."
With a 1000 hours of work placements across the course, the support of Oorala Centre and UNE helped make this something to look forward to.
She completed her first placement at Billabong Clubhouse, a mental health non-residential rehabilitation service and completed her final placement at Tamworth Base Hospital. Isabelle found that for others "this can be a stressful time. However, I was blessed to have very fruitful experiences, and I was able to develop as a student social worker both culturally and professionally."
In her day-to-day practice, she constantly questions the current child protection legislative framework of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and the degree of self-determination felt and experienced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. She questions how self-determination is promoted in practice, is kept accountable, and is defined by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
As the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are still heavily over-represented in statistical data, and trans-generational trauma is omitted across Kinship groups at large, she hopes to create a change within the community and for the current legislative framework of 'protecting children' to be refined to let the community come together and define what's best for the children.
By the end of 2021, this questioning lead Isabella to embark on her Honours thesis research. This was titled: "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection: A thematic enquiry into how self-determination is perceived by practitioners".
Based on her research studies , Isabella also completed an artwork – Families Together. When asked, she said, "This painting represents my strong passion for family preservation, culturally based healing, and family-based practice."
Artwork: Families Together by Isabella Shearman.
Since graduating, Isabella has gained employment in her dream job with NSW Health as an Aboriginal Sexual Assault Counsellor (Social Worker). She stated that "I am extremely passionate about the experiences of complex and intergenerational trauma, and it's a space I wish to strongly advocate in – especially for the community I call home."
I am extremely passionate about the experiences of complex and intergenerational trauma, and it's a space I wish to strongly advocate in – especially for the community I call home.
Isabella is the first person in her family to graduate from university study. She said, "It has been a well-supported journey by my family, for which I will forever be grateful.”
Having thrived at UNE Isabella says, “Graduating to me feels extremely special and meaningful. I hope to supervise Social Work students in the future and inspire them to follow their dreams."
