Fiona Reid

After growing up on a farm outside Cooma, Fiona moved to St Martin’s College to study Social Work, a decision that was motivated by her Christian faith to serve God and others. Fiona found the regional setting of St Martin’s appealing, and enjoyed the stunning country views, and getting involved in various ways in the community (on and off campus) whilst she was here. She enjoys catching up with friends from St Martin’s when she returns to Wagga.

Since leaving St Martin’s, Fiona worked in various areas of Social Work related to children, youth and families in Melbourne and London and then moved into the education sector in Sydney where she worked in Student Support, Team Leading, Project Management and was the Dean at two educational residential facilities.

After almost 20 years of living in urban settings however, Fiona decided to move to Canberra to be closer to her hometown and family, whilst at the same time commencing her Master’s of Divinity through Ridley College in Melbourne by distance education. Fiona loves learning and growing and the way that education forms and shapes us and is looking forward to seeing how her current studies impact her personally and where she heads next upon the completion of her degree.

And what advice would she give to a new and upcoming Social Worker? It is a profession that can have a powerful impact systematically as well as in individual lives and change oneself in the process. As a people-oriented role, it is interesting and affords the opportunity to meet and get to know many people from diverse backgrounds and hear many different stories. It is also a profession that enables work in a variety of different areas which is one of its key advantages. As such, there is much to value in the profession and many reasons to do it. As a role that falls into the ‘essential’ category, it is also likely to offer work for many years to come, so enjoy what it offers and best wishes with your journey!