10/02/2026
🌱 Growing the therapists of tomorrow – one opportunity at a time
Back in 2022, we received a call from the School Based Apprenticeship and Traineeship Engagement Officer from our local Educational Pathways Program.
They wanted to tell me about a Year 10 student with a big dream: she wanted to become an Occupational Therapist.
Her name was Abbey.
Abbey had the insight (and courage!) to design her own pathway. She wanted to complete a School Based Traineeship (SBAT) in Business Administration so she could achieve her Cert III alongside her HSC, ideally within an OT practice.
At the time, we weren’t sure our business could support an SBAT… but because we love encouraging future OTs, we offered Abbey a week of work experience.
That week changed everything.
Abbey was outstanding — curious, respectful, hardworking, and genuinely invested in learning. We soon offered her an SBAT position, and for the next two years, she worked two afternoons a week in our clinic while completing her HSC.
She gained early entry into Speech Pathology at the University of Newcastle and Occupational Therapy at Charles Sturt University.
Wanting to stay local, Abbey commenced the Bachelor of Speech Pathology at Newcastle University with the goal of achieving the marks needed to transfer into OT — no small feat when the ATAR for OT at Newcastle is over 90 and entry is highly competitive. She continued working with us in both admin and as an Allied Health Assistant throughout her first year of uni.
And then came the moment we were all hoping for…
Abbey successfully gained entry into Newcastle’s undergraduate OT program. 🎉
Last week, Abbey finished up with us to move into a local role working with children — an area she thinks she may like to work in as part of her future OT career.
We’ve had the absolute privilege of watching Abbey grow from a 15-year-old Year 10 student into a confident, capable young woman who will undoubtedly do our profession proud.
Not every pathway looks the same.
Not every opportunity has to be perfect from day one.
But sometimes, saying yes to work experience… or yes to a trainee… can change someone’s future.
And that’s pretty powerful.
We are so proud of you, Abbey!
