One local teenager is undertaking valuable research in the area of community health.
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Ash Campbell is part of a new initiative helping students finish their higher education outside the bricks and mortar of traditional schooling.
The Year 12 student is researching attitudes towards drugs and alcohol support services for her Indigenous studies class, and is inspired by what she has found.
“I had to pick a topic from areas like health and deaths in custody, and I thought drugs and alcohol were more relevant to the community,” the 17-year-old said.
“I’ve seen the damage drugs do to people, and it’s a killer.”
Ash is completing surveys with the area’s young Indigenous community, as well as interviewing local health professionals and older people in the community.
“I asked the young people if they would look for help if they had a problem and half said they wouldn’t,” she said.
A partnership between Karabar Distance Education Centre in Queanbeyan and Bega High School has seen Ash and four Year 11 students continue their studies at Bega’s Women’s Resource Centre.
She said the new environment has helped her in fulfilling her dream of going to university, which she said would not have been possible in the traditional school environment.
“When I was doing my my interview with Wandarma (Drug and Alcohol Service) I thought this is what I would like to do,” she said.
“I think I really gain a lot when I know I can help people.
“I really like it.”
Ash works closely with Bega High School support teacher Vanessa de Jong, and the Yellow Pinch resident is also undertaking a nursing traineeship while studying for her Higher School Certificate.
“I don’t want to sit around, I want a career and to be successful because I’m part of the next generation,” Ash said.