A clear vision

The recipient of the 2023 Anglicare Scholarship in Social Work at the University of Tasmania is Louise Adams, of Hobart.

“I am so grateful to receive this scholarship as it means I can pay my fees,” Louise says. “It will have a serious and positive impact on my life – and my children’s lives as well.”

As a single parent to eight children aged 5-25, six of whom are still living at home, juggling their needs, work and study is a challenge. Louise is on a very tight budget, and the scholarship means that the cost of university is one less expense she has to worry about.

When she was in her 20s, Louise completed half of a law degree. It sparked an awareness of the barriers that many people face when trying to access legal support.

Parenting and running her own cleaning business in the following years became her focus until she became unable to work for a period after a car accident in 2020.

“I started looking at study options, initially psychology,” she explained. “A friend suggested I take a look at the new social work degree being offered by UTAS. The course has really strong themes of social justice and human rights and my first thought was, this is right in my wheelhouse.”

Louise wants to contribute to government policy-making after she graduates. Her vision is to ensure that everyone has equal access to education and to the health care and social supports that they need.

Her last course placement, in the Child Safety Service within the Department of Education, Children and Young People, led to a 12-month contract. She currently works there three days a week.

Now, Louise is looking forward to an upcoming placement at Anglicare that starts next month. She will work on a project investigating the barriers that young people face when trying to access primary mental health care.

I want to become an agent of change. The degree gives me a new language that I can use when advocating for people, and the placements provide the practical experience I need to hit the ground running.

More information:

The Anglicare Scholarship in Social Work is worth $5,000. It is offered each year to a third or fourth year student of social work at the University of Tasmania. The University selects the scholarship winner.

Read interviews with former scholarship recipients Bonita Raimondo and Tamar Campbell.

Visit the University of Tasmania’s School of Social Work webpage for course outlines, information on career opportunities and student case studies.