Lindiwe Mlalzi

Master of Social Work

I was attracted to social work because I want to work with families and make a difference in people’s lives. It’s a broad field and you can work in lots of different kinds of settings.

I like the structure of the course, with our time on campus limited to two days. The staff have also been very supportive, and quite a few of them wrote the textbooks we study, which is reassuring!

All my placements have been great. My last placement was in Shepparton, in a volunteer-run space for young children, most of whom came from disadvantaged backgrounds. It’s somewhere for them to go after school, where they do their homework and other activities, have dinner and then are taken home.

We do a research project at the end of every placement, and with this one I found the volunteers meant a lot to these young people; the fact they had chosen to be there for them, and that they kept coming back, was important.

My placement this semester has been surprising. I thought I didn’t want to work in a hospital, but when my original placement fell through I swapped to the Royal Children’s Hospital at the last minute. And I’ve discovered I love it!

I’m enjoying the variety, the team environment and being stretched.  I’ve come across vulnerable children, family violence, financial hardship and bereavement, and I’ve worked with lots of different medical teams.  It’s made me much more open to working in a hospital after graduation.

I know I want to work with children and families, but I’m still open to where that might be. I’m excited to see what comes next.

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