C.A.S. Hawker Scholars

My Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History thesis looked at the subject formation of 'the girl' in 1950s Australia. It was under the supervision of Professor Jill Matthews at the ANU. I loved doing this research and working with Jill and knew that at some point I'd return to study.

After finishing my study at the ANU in 2011, I've lived in Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra (again) and now I’m in Melbourne. In this time I have been working in a range of odd jobs: waitressing, cleaning, as a baker's assistant and as a cook, playing in bands, reading a lot, trying to write, learning about photography and film, and studying.

In 2014 I completed a Graduate Certificate in Documentary Fundamentals at the Australian Film Television and Radio School and in 2015 I completed a Graduate Certificate in Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney.

While at the University of Sydney, I took a class on the sociology of drugs, health and medicine and fell in love with the material. It inspired me to want to do further study in this area and to work in the AOD/health sector. This led me to find work with a community mental health organisation Wellways, where I’ve been working since 2016. With Wellways I’ve worked across a number of programs in Canberra and Melbourne including residential youth and adult settings, a Women's Mental Health Program and as a caseworker with the Partners in Recovery program.

In 2018 I began a PhD with the National Drug Research Institute in Melbourne. My interdisciplinary thesis combines the fields of sociology of health and medicine, Science and Technology Studies (STS), critical drug studies and gender studies to investigate the relationship between masculinity and men who inject performance and image enhancing drugs. I am enjoying being challenged by the PhD and feel very lucky to be working as part of the team that I am.

I live in Melbourne with my partner, David and my dog Louie. I enjoy playing in a couple of bands here and have loved volunteering in the past year with the Girls Rock! camps in Canberra and Melbourne which seek to empower girls, trans and gender-diverse young people through music.