Amanda Chitty recently interned with Denmark Futures through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship, putting her research skills to work supporting improved wellbeing initiatives for seniors in the Great Southern town.
Currently studying Biomedical Science with a Public Health major, Amanda contributed 100 hours to her project with Denmark Futures, mapping existing wellbeing measures, health services and community resources, analysing data she collected, and assisting with the production of a brochure for publication.
“The research and mapping I undertook helped prepare for a stakeholder meeting and is expected to have broader implications for seniors and community wellbeing across regional Western Australia,” Amanda said.
“The data from this workshop will be packaged up and finalised for community publication and discussions to set future priorities for seniors in the Shire of Denmark.”
“My research has helped the community to better identify wellbeing priorities and future measures and projects that will help seniors in the community thrive.
“The community now has a data set that can help with future funding applications for these projects,” she said.
Juliet Grist, Denmark Futures Executive Officer, said that with Amanda’s contribution the organisation had achieved far more than initially hoped, and was well positioned to provide resources to other communities in Western Australia seeking to understand the wellbeing of their citizens.
“As an intern, Amanda achieved a great deal, and she quickly became more like a fully-fledged professional team member. Her interest in Doughnut Economics and familiarity with the thinking around thriving communities, combined with her research skills, and willingness to explore what had been done elsewhere really added value,” Ms Grist said.
One of 12 McCusker Centre for Citizenship interns to support organisations in regional WA during the summer internship round, Amanda said the experience had allowed her to ‘deep dive’ into issues facing rural and regional communities in the State.
“I started work on my internship from Perth, but when I travelled down and stayed in Denmark, I gained an appreciation of the environment, and a better understanding of what it's really like to live in a rural and regional area.
“I now have a greater understanding of inequalities with resources and funding - important issues such as health outcomes due to climate change, which we're facing across Australia, are more extreme in these regional settings,” Amanda said.
Amanda, a mature age student, said that she recommended the internship experience for the opportunities it provides for applying study to real-life situations.
“This experience boosted the confidence I have in my skills, and for future employment opportunities - the real-world connections I made are also invaluable.”