'There is no limit': how scholarships and work experience are changing Indigenous lives | Hannah McCleary for IndigneousX

Culture can connect people on a level unlike anything else - if you've experienced it, you know what I mean

Australia must realise that an important step towards reconciliation is showing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students that they are valued and important, and that we believe in their future. Providing opportunities for professional experience, learning and networking is a crucial component of this. I have been lucky enough to be involved in a number of programs aimed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and they have changed my life (and my peers' lives) immensely.

Growing up on my small island home of Tasmania, in a school full of hundreds of kids, I was only ever aware of three or four other students who also identified as Indigenous. For a long time, I struggled with understanding and embracing my identity and culture due to not having a network of other Indigenous kids around me - something which is all too common among our young people, as a consequence of the stolen generation and enduring prejudice within society.