She jokes that one day she’d like to be Minister for Health – but with Emma Roberts’ achievements so far, anything is possible.
Emma is the 2010 Vocational Student of the Year, presented at Fountains recently, during one of the Institute’s annual calendar highlights. Diploma of Laboratory Technology student Emma was voted the winner from a group of 11 nominees who had risen as exceptional achievers among our 26,000 Vocational students.
In her mid teens, Emma lost nearly a year of schooling due to depression and anorexia, but got herself back on track, and found her true calling in Box Hill Institute’s Certificate IV in Science. A self-professed “nose diver” into her studies, Emma found Microbiology fascinated her, and she revelled in the Institute’s superior level of technology and hands-on teaching style.
Her teachers noticed Emma was no slouch at teaching herself—soon she was helping out at the Institute as a disability liaison, as well as her job in a pathology lab and extra work in an aged care facility. Perhaps informed by her past health experiences, Emma has a strong interest in natural medicine, and wants to combine it with her research and education, in a career that is likely to take her into teaching and now, with this award on her CV, who knows where else?
Emma will now represent Box Hill Institute at the Victorian Training awards, but it must be said that all the nominees were impressive and deserving of the praise and attention lavished upon them during the evening.
One other award was also presented, the Alan Broadhead Achievement Award, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Box Hill. The award was presented to ICT student Brent Rogers, who has been deaf since the age of two, and has worked his way through the Bachelor of Computer Systems and Networking with excellent results, despite having to rely on an interpreter.
Brent’s upbeat, cheeky demeanour was there for all to see, as he conducted his acceptance speech with the aid of interpreter Megan Bushby. It was one of the many emotion-filled moments of the evening, where guests were also treated to the story of guest speaker Dan Adams’ achievements in organising the Make Poverty History concert.
We wish Emma good luck in the Victorian Training Awards, and congratulate all the students who were nominated.