Jessica shares how she devoted her life to community service and healthcare
For Jessica Di Bartolo, a West Hoxton resident, community service has been a core part of her life and giving back to the people has been a top priority since her school days.
She has been an all-rounder since she started studying at the John Edmondson High School. In addition to her studies, she participated in extracurricular activities at the school, such as playing soccer.
"In school, I was very sporty and loved getting involved in social and physical health activities," Jessica said.
"It helped me develop leadership skills and gain extensive experience while I was completing my education at school.
Jessica represented her school at various sporting events and is now a level 3 referee for Southern Districts Soccer, where she coaches younger referees and helps them train and develop their skills.
While completing her HSC, her desire to give back to the community, motivated her to enrol in a Certificate-III course in Health Care, during which she undertook work placements at hospitals and aged care facilities - and that's where she found her calling and passion for nursing.
After completing her HSC in late 2019, Jessica enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing degree at UOW's South Western Sydney campus in Liverpool to pursue her dream and gain a qualification in health.
The University's close partnerships with the community and the healthcare sector helped Jessica to undertake the degree at the South Western Sydney campus.
"When I was looking for unis to study at I had heard good things about UOW," Jessica said.
"Studying at the South Western Sydney campus was a practical decision for me, as it was close to where I live, and its connections with the South Western Sydney Local Health District helped me make a decision.
"Our tutors have been good to us, especially when we were studying online during the pandemic and they would check in on our wellbeing the whole time."
Jessica has been an outstanding student since she started her degree at UOW. Due to her academic excellence and achievements, she has received scholarships worth $15,000 in total from the University and the Liverpool City Council to help with costs related directly to study.
"Since I started at UOW, each year I received the Liverpool City Community Scholarships and that helped me to focus on my studies rather than working," she said.
"The scholarships I received throughout the course of my degree supported me to thrive and get more involved within the community while I was undertaking the degree.
"It made me feel a sense of accomplishment in knowing that my community would support me in my career pathway and that allowed me the opportunity to work with the University to develop my skills to eventually giveback to the community."
After three years of hard work and dedication, Jessica has completed her degree at UOW. She has accepted an offer to work at Liverpool Hospital, where she will continue to serve the community and gain experience in healthcare. She also plans to get back into studies in the future to pursue a degree in paramedics.
