Celebrating our 2024 NNSW Health Academy Graduates and Award Winners

Congratulations to our 2024 NNSW Health Academy Graduates!

On Monday 16th December, IAHA celebrated the NNSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Academy Graduates. Held on the beautiful Richmond River on Nyangbal Country, we were welcomed by Nyangbal Elder Aunty Tania Marlowe and The Widjabul Wia-Bal Dancers, who shared both traditional and contemporary dance choreographed by Bangarra.

The night was a celebration of five deadly young people who have graduated Academy with their Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance, 4 of them via school-based traineeships and completing the qualifications in year 12 alongside their High School Certificate. This has been a significant achievement, post Lismore Floods in 2022 and IAHA have been privileged to share and witness the strength, resilience and growth of the graduating cohort.

We were also gifted the delightful entertainment of one of our Graduating Trainees, Sara McDonald, who not only cleaned up with the Future Leaders and the Trainee of the Year awards, but sang, My Future by Billie Eilish. This was followed by another performance later in the evening by young and deadly Widjabul Wia-Bal Woman, Maddison King, who sang Home Coming Queen by Thelma Plum and what an amazing tribute it was to our graduates as they farewell their secondary education and look toward their futures. 

Thank you to our training partners, TAFE NSW, our host employers, and the IAHA Group Training team for their important roles in supporting the culturally safe and responsive delivery of classroom and workplace learning. 

Finally, a big thank you to all our students, their families, our host employers and others who have made this journey to graduation possible. We look forward to watching you all go on to do great and deadly things in the future! 2024 Graduates: Sara McDonald, Olivia Laurie, Racquel Small, Grace Kelly and Zara Somerville