Julia Donald
First year Biomedicine student Julia Donald dreams of travelling the world helping people but it was travelling in Australia that first sparked her desire to be a doctor.
Julia was in year 10 when she went on a mission trip to Kurrawang, an Indigenous community in Western Australia, to work with primary school children and help improve living conditions. She was amazed by the stark contrast to her home life in Melbourne and, from then on, was determined to pursue a career in health work with children.
"The much poorer living conditions and the lack of healthcare were shocking. Going to Kurrawang was like stepping into a different country, which was really sad because Australia is meant to be such a wealthy, equal country."
"To help improve the living conditions of kids in communities such as Kurrawang was definitely one of the main reasons I wanted to do Medicine."
Julia is now studying for a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne, which she says was an obvious choice for her.
"Health sciences and being a doctor was the only thing on my mind, it was the only thing that suited me," she says.
Staying true to her passion for children's health, Julia wants to continue on at Melbourne to study graduate Medicine and hopes to one day train as a paediatrician.
She dreams of working overseas, ideally for an organisation that helps communities in need, such as Médecins Sans Frontièrs.
With diverse interests, including volunteering, it’s no surprise that Julia was one of the winners of the inaugural Biomedicine Scholarship. She hopes the scholarship will help to broaden her learning experience on a global scale.
Julia remains passionate about helping disadvantaged communities and travelling and will combine these interests later this year when she travels to Costa Rica as part of a volunteer project. During the project, run by International Student Volunteers, volunteers teach English and help to build houses.
As part of her course, Julia is taking French as a breadth subject. The chance to study subjects outside her major study area and to attain broader, generic skills before specialising are aspects of the course Julia really likes.
"That's where the Melbourne Model is great, you're getting a general overview, and you're not locked into a 5-year course. I can do French whilst still getting my specific studies completed."
Julia is adamant the flexible nature of her course will help her gain varied experience that will compliment her future graduate studies.
She was thrilled about winning the scholarship as it gives her the financial freedom to do voluntary work.
But although she's exited about the opportunities the scholarship gives her, she thinks the best part is 'I don’t have to rely so much on my parents!'
2010 Biomedicine Scholarships
Five domestic undergraduate scholarships will be available in 2010 for commencing Bachelor of Biomedicine students with an ENTER (or equivalent) of 99.85 or above. These scholarships will be to the value of $6,000 per annum for three years. Find out more on how to apply.