Student Highlights
Taking action to improve policy

Emilie entered the Bachelor of Development Studies with an interest in global poverty and international development issues. During her degree Emilie realised that those issues were a large scale manifestation of the challenges of community development locally. This interest led her choices through her degree and to her career today.  

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO SINCE GRADUATING? 

When we last spoke with Emilie four years ago, she had just started her role as Community Development Officer for Lake Macquarie City Council. Four years on and Emilie is still working and Lake Macquarie Council and incredibly happy in her job. Her role involves a wide variety of tasks including supporting community organisations, running campaigns and other networking events while also being a face and name that community knows.

Emilie is also involved in longer-term projects addressing mental health, multiculturalism and homelessness within the City of Lake Macquarie. The Homelessness Plan Emilie is working on will be the first of its kind in the Hunter region. Speaking to stakeholders, sending surveys, researching and hearing from people who care about and have lived experience of homelessness has built community engagement into The Homelessness Plan from the outset. Although Emilie and her team have been working in the area of homelessness for years, the Homelessness Plan will provide definite actions with given time frames and accountabilities. This involves balancing whole of council social plans and community plans for the future, as well as remaining responsive and facilitating events and activities that can respond to issues now.

To ensure she is responsive and effective in her role, Emilie tries to remains flexible. She understands that people and their lives are constantly changing and by being flexible and changing her tasks she can better help those around her.  

Emilie appreciates her role, her team and the level of support and genuine care for the lives of the residents and visitors in the community in Council.  She works to ensure the capacity of her team to support vulnerable people. 

Emilie initially started her career with volunteering in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector with Northern Settlement Services. Emilie volunteered as a tutor whilst studying and helped high school students build their English language skills by assisting with their homework one afternoon per week. Emilie found the volunteering experience incredibly rewarding and really enjoyed interacting with people as well as experiencing a taste of a professional work environment. Emilie gained a number of paid positions with Northern Settlement Services, before moving onto working with New Horizons working on a program around mental health and refugees and humanitarian arrivals.  

Emilie’s previous experiences and the relationships that she created in the not for profit sector are still beneficial to her now. As council is reviewing their Multicultural Plan, Emilie is still in contact with the people she used to work with at New Horizons.  

With the resources available in council, Emilie has been able to work on projects from the ground up. A project that has been a highlight for Emilie is Awesome Lake Macquarie. The project is supported by a board of Lake Macquarie community members who contribute towards $1000 micro-grants. The grant is for anyone within the community who has a great idea and needs a bit of cash influx to get it off the ground. The latest grant was awarded to 80’s Skaties which is a family friendly gathering on Friday nights at Speers Point Park, for anyone on wheels. Emilie has loved seeing the project grow.  

HOW RELEVANT HAS YOUR DEGREE BEEN SINCE YOU GRADUATED? 

For the last year of her degree, Emilie decided to go on student exchange to Gothenburg, Sweden. Emilie knew she wanted to gain as much practical experience as she could. That desire to gain experience lead her to studying in Sweden which she was able to do via an iLead Plus scholarship. The main benefit of studying overseas, for Emilie, was being able to meet so many people from all over the world. Emilie wanted to go through the challenges of studying abroad to help her grow as a person as well as building her CV. Emilie strongly encourages students to participate in the iLead program. It will help you meet other like-minded people and you will able to develop your own leadership capabilities at a young age. 
As a student, it can be difficult to escape the pressure of feeling that you need to achieve good grades. Through her working career, it has been obvious to Emilie that who she is as a person, how much she cares about what it is she is doing and the desire to continue increasing her skills is what is most important now.  

“You definitely keep learning when you complete your studies.” 

The Development Studies degree taught Emilie how to be open minded and critique yourself. When looking at a particular issue in her work, Emilie keeps her mind open and forms her opinion by researching and listening to the evidence.  

“Looking at things from so many sides is what Development Studies teaches you.” 

ADVICE: VOLUNTEER AND MAKE FRIENDS 

Gaining practical experience was important during Emilie’s degree. Emilie did this through volunteering opportunities and studying abroad. Through these experiences you will develop friendships as well as developing your professional network. Emilie is still in contact with people that she volunteered with during her degree.  

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE 

When Emilie applied for her role in council, she was initially applying to gain the application and interview experience. Her expectation at the time was that she would be in a similar role, but later down the track with more experience under her belt. Fortunately, Emilie found herself in her dream role a few years earlier than she expected. At the moment, Emilie is incredibly happy with her job, the people she works with and in being able to facilitate positive changes and provide support to her community.

Emilie Wrigger

Emilie always had an interest in global poverty and international development policy. Taking her knowledge and volunteering skills, find out her she has turned her passions into lifelong career goals.