Canberra woman takes out national Indigenous student of the year title

When you have a rough upbringing, where people tell you you’re unlikely to amount to much, chances are you’ll believe it.

When Emma Brown was growing up, and struggling with dyslexia, that’s what she was told. But as she grew older, Emma decided she wasn’t having a bar of it. Today, this proud Ngemba woman has just been named Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year.

Emma, a student at Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), was recognised for her achievements during the 12-month Indigenous Apprenticeship Program, which included a Diploma of Government and full-time employment as a customer service officer with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

Emma dedicated her award to her 11-year-old son Zachary, but said she’d also surprised – and motivated – herself.

“If people keep telling you you’re not going to make anything of yourself, you tend to believe it,” she said. “But I was lucky.

“When I was at Canberra College, I had this teacher Lisa Garner and she told me to believe in myself. She said I was worth more, that I was more capable than I thought.

“When I fell pregnant with Zach when I was 17, and halfway through college, she let me bring him in with me so I could finish my HSC. She was like Zach’s school nanna. I could not have done it without her.

“I also could not have got here without Robyn Watson from the CIT. She helped me so much – it’s so nice to have a teacher who believes in you.”

Someone else who believes in Emma is young Zach. When the awards were announced this week and streamed live from Nipaluna country in Tasmania, Zach was watching with his grandfather at home in Canberra.

Emma dedicated her award to Zach, giving him a shout-out in her acceptance speech.

“This is all for my son, 100 per cent,” she said. “Later on he started telling people he was famous because I gave him a shout-out,” she laughed.

“What I wanted to do was to show him a good work ethic and that anything’s possible if you put your mind to it. It’s all about creating a better future for me and my son.”

Emma said another highlight of the award was the time she spent on Nipaluna country with the other Indigenous students and local Elders.

She said Aunty Ruth Langford, Aunty Jan Langridge and Uncle Dougie Mansell performed the Welcome to Country. Tasmanian Indigenous elder Uncle Rodney also performed a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony at a cultural day event, which Emma described as a special moment.

“For me, it was quite spiritual,” Emma said. “At the wellness cultural activity we did with Aunty Ruth, we all ended up crying because there was so much good energy in the room.

“I remember ending up going outside and taking my shoes off so I could really be grounded with country,” she said.

When asked where Emma saw herself in the next few years, she said she was keen to stay at CASA, describing it as “my second family”.

“I love the work environment there,” she said. “I don’t see myself going anywhere else soon.

“It has this amazing CASA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employee Network, where we get together and talk about things, where we share culture, where we understand about stuff that we go through together, like the recent Yes vote.”

The Indigenous Apprenticeship Program is administered in partnership between CIT Solutions and Services Australia. It aims to prepare First Nations students for successful careers in the public service and has had more than 1500 graduates in the past four years.