Sancta Sophia College, The University of Sydney

2 days ago

#SanctaHealthHeroes: “The real heroes are the people I work with in developing countries.”

Since graduating from The University of Sydney 39 years ago, Hobart-based physiotherapist and Sancta alumna, Jennifer Ball AM, has spent much of her professional life volunteering, mentoring, and teaching health professionals in developing countries across the world.

“I want to share my experiences to provide encouragement to students at Sancta who may be feeling unsure about their futures and where their chosen career may take them. The possibilities can be amazing!”

20 years ago, Jennifer started teaching university students in the Pacific region how to care for burns victims and has since completed countless missions to countries such as Fiji and Nepal.

“I use my knowledge and skills to help other health professionals to increase capacity in their developing countries. This voluntary part of my life is a real privilege and has enabled me to carry on the role of medical mentoring, for which I was a very fortunate recipient in my early career."

“All areas of health and medicine have a rich history of mentoring to carry new graduates from the formal learning of university to the practical knowledge and skills required for patient care. I am grateful for the generosity of my mentors and am lucky to be able to carry on this tradition in Australia and across the world.”

Jennifer was recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 for her service to physiotherapy through volunteer teaching. Her dedication to her profession continues despite the current global pandemic.

“The current COVID-19 crisis has been a great global leveller in many respects, demonstrating that socioeconomic status is not necessarily protective."

Physiotherapists in Australia, and all over the world, continue to work without the luxury or safety of physical distancing and we are doing this simply because it is what we do.

Whilst my three planned mentoring and teaching visits to Nepal and the Pacific for this year have been postponed until 2021, the friendship and mentoring from afar continues, and everyone is able to carry on their work helping others despite the difficult circumstances.”

Join us in recognising Sancta’s Health Heroes – share your story at sancta.edu.au/healthheroes ... See MoreSee Less

Sancta Sophia College, The University of Sydney

7 days ago

What a tea-riffic morning! A huge thank you to everyone who joined our #biggestmorningtea today and helped us raise over $900 to support Australians impacted by cancer.

You can still help us reach our goal of $1000 by visiting www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/fundraiser/Sancta ... See MoreSee Less