Garigarra Mundine

04 Apr 2018

Since coming to ANU, I’ve completed an internship with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and they've kept me on part-time to work on Indigenous policy while I study.

"I have a real interest in Indigenous policy and one day, I want to work on human rights issues for Indigenous Australians on an international level. And ANU is the best place to do that.

"The hardest thing about coming to ANU was being separated from my family. But when I'm homesick, the people at Tjabal give me that support. We have Aboriginal community get-togethers and barbeques - it's great having everyone get together.

"The Tjabal Centre has been amazing. They helped me by putting me in touch with the right people to talk to about what I wanted to do and what courses would be best for me, and helped me through the application process... they even helped me get a scholarship to cover my accommodation on campus.

"Since coming to ANU, I've completed an internship with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and they've kept me on part-time to work on Indigenous policy while I study. Next, I'm really interested in getting a cadetship with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They have an international Indigenous community outreach program there and do a lot of work with the United Nations - which is what I want to do.

"Long term, I'd love to be the first Indigenous Minister for Indigenous Affairs!"