Tom Mackay graduated from UWA with a Bachelor of Commerce in July this year and has since moved to Narrogin to begin his professional career with National Australia Bank (NAB). He was back at UWA today to receive the McCusker Centre for Citizenship’s Outstanding Intern Award for his contribution to the work of the Road Safety Commission (the Commission).
Undertaking the internship in the summer before his final semester, Tom played an active role in the development of the Road Smart KickStart road safety education program for WA secondary schools.
“Tom exceeded our expectations for an intern,” said Simone Steele, Director, Education and Behaviour Change at the Commission.
“He approached every challenge with enthusiasm, and students in trials of the program at Narembeen and Kulin District High Schools found him approachable and engaging.
“Tom’s work on the program’s evaluation was an incredibly valuable contribution. His approach was engaging, person-centred, and age-appropriate and enabled the Education and Behaviour Change Team to collect valuable data on student risks, attitudes and beliefs on road safety. A contractor had been engaged to provide this element of the project, however, Tom’s evaluation approach was deemed a better fit for purpose with the target audience,” Ms Steele said.
Tom said it was a great privilege being acknowledged with the Outstanding Intern Award.
“After gaining invaluable experience while with Simone Steele and the Road Safety Commission team, along with putting into practice what I learnt at UWA, being recognised for this hard work is really rewarding,” he said.
“My internship played a large part in giving me the experience and confidence to secure a graduate role with NAB, and to quickly apply for and move into my current Customer Loans Solutions role in Narrogin.
“It also gave me a broader understanding of the work done behind the scenes by the Road Safety Commission has an impact for all of us as road users. I’m really grateful to have been part of this process. Seeing the Road Smart KickStart program fully rolled out has been great to follow and rewarding after my work with the pilot for the program,” he said.
Tom is one of eight UWA students and recent graduates named as recipients of the Outstanding Intern Award for 2025, selected from more than 140 interns nominated by their supervisors.
The Awards were presented today at UWA by McCusker Charitable Foundation Directors the Honourable Malcolm McCusker AC CVO KC CitWA and Judge Denis Reynolds AM.
Image: Outstanding Intern Award recipient Tom Mackay (second from right) with members of the Road Safety Commission team Pia Brammer, Simone Steele and Melissa Creagh