Meg Melville Alumni Endeavour Award

The Meg Melville Alumni Endeavour Award provides financial support for a group or individual from Year 12 to achieve something extraordinary for others after graduation. Sarah Shipman was the 2021 recipient and shares her story below.

What are some memories of your time at Penrhos?

I started at Penrhos in Year 2 transferring from brother school, Wesley College. During this time, I made many beautiful memories with friends who I continue to keep in touch with. An early unforgettable memory was nurturing silkworms and watching them transform into moths within our classroom.

Several exciting experiences from Secondary School took place in the Science Department; we imploded metal tubs, built go-karts, blew up rockets, made liquid nitrogen ice cream and more. However, the 2019 Music Tour to Europe was by far the most incredible experience during my time at Penrhos. I performed on the cello in the symphony orchestra and sung as a member of the choir in theatres, churches and even caves, all over Europe. We also visited musical monuments such as the home of Beethoven and where the famous musical, the Sound of Music was set.

What inspired you to apply for the Meg Melville Endeavour Award and choose this project in particular?

Meg Melville was an inspiration to myself and all the Penrhos girls, and like her I wanted to have a positive impact on young minds.

At the age of 3, I was diagnosed with Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) and had to attend speech therapy. From a young age, I had hearing difficulties and had to develop strategies to overcome the challenges this presented in school. It wasn’t until the later years of high school that I was confident to speak about my struggles and found out that I was not alone in this experience.

When I was in Year 11 the COVID-19 pandemic had arisen, and sign language interpreters had become more widely recognised with their increasing appearance on the news. I was shocked that it had taken a global pandemic for people to realise that all groups must have equal access to the news. This brought me to learn that over 5% of the Australian population have a long-term hearing disorder. It also opened my eyes to the idea that sign language should become more available to students.

Furthermore, I have a passion for languages and communication. During Secondary School I studied ATAR Italian and learnt Indonesian in Junior School, whilst also taking German outside of school. I also took part in debating throughout Secondary School and jumped at any public speaking opportunity that came along.

The Meg Melville Endeavour Award provided me with an opportunity to raise awareness of deaf and hard of hearing people and their culture. I want to be the person who I needed when I was young and give girls the confidence to speak up and turn their challenges into opportunities. I want to empower young girls and open their eyes to a new language that isn’t yet widely available to students.

With my love of learning languages, hearing experiences and will to inspire others, the Meg Melville Endeavour Award was the catalyst I needed to begin my Auslan journey.

How did you implement the project?

In 2022, I took an Auslan Key sign class. I took note of their teaching methods, and structures and realised that Auslan could easily be taught in a classroom environment. Hence, I began the research into implementing an Auslan class at Penrhos. Additionally, I created a document for teachers with little ways they could change their classroom to be more inclusive of students who were hard of hearing. I used my own school experience and understanding of the College to create individualised ideas that would improve students’ learning experiences. For example, ensuring PA announcements did not occur over lunch and recess times when girls could not hear it over the background noise and ensuring recorded zoom lessons included a transcript.

During Term 2 of 2023, my Auslan program became official with the assistance of Bernadette Pangrazio, Director of Operations and CoCurricular, Alumni Committee mentor Gina Cacho, and Caroline Jenkins, Community Engagement Coordinator.

On Mondays after school an Auslan teacher from Signpedia taught girls from Year 7-10 the basics of sign language ranging from numbers, people, places, instructions, time, food, and more.

Upon completion of the program, I made the girls a notebook with the word ‘dream’ finger spelled onto it to leave them a reminder of their incredible achievement and to encourage them to continue their Auslan learning. I also created individualised certificates to award them for their continued hard work and growth.

What have you gained from this experience?

The experience provided me with a newfound appreciation for communication and the different forms in which languages can take. It was wonderful learning from Marie who shared her experiences as a deaf individual and discussing with interpreters how they came upon this career. I learnt that many interpreters start in healthcare courses and are introduced to Auslan by patients, colleagues, and mentors. It was insightful to hear their stories and I learnt that two different careers can often be merged and transform over time.

The experience has also assisted in the development of my organisational, leadership, problem solving and teamwork skills, allowing me to discover what I want to pursue, and how to develop my passions to help others. Furthermore, it provided me time to get to know all the amazing girls who enrolled - I was elated by how many had signed up. Over time I came to know many of them individually and am so proud of them all.

Do you have a message for our current students?

I would encourage students to apply for the Meg Melville Endeavour Award. It provides leadership experience and is such a rewarding program. For future applying Year 12s, I recommend finding something you are passionate about and have a personal connection to. Choose an idea that can help others in a way that you will enjoy.

Take advantage of this incredible opportunity. The Meg Melville Endeavour Award has opened my career and provided me with valuable networking skills. I have enjoyed every single minute of it.

Where to from here?

I am currently studying a Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science majoring in Medical Imaging at Curtin. I hope to get a Postgraduate degree in sonography and use these skills to provide ultrasound diagnostic imaging. In the future I plan to continue learning Auslan and discover signs specific to healthcare to further incorporate sign language into my career.

I plan to speak openly about my experiences, and I hope to inspire others to learn Auslan and continue learning skills which can assist deaf patients.