The research shows that indigenous people are under represented in Australia’s universities.
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According to Universities Australia, Aboriginal people make up 2.7 per cent of the country’s working population but only 1.6 per cent of student enrollments.
So how did Kamilaroi man, Michael Kirk, do it?
He graduated from the University of New England a few weeks ago at the Autumn Graduation ceremonies, the first in his family to get a university degree.
He said there were important influences along the way, starting with his grandparents in Glen Innes, John and Val Kirk.
They did most of the bringing up and set him on the right route. “They told me the story of how they never had the opportunity when they were growing up”, he said.
And then in Glen Innes High School, he had a few teachers who showed interest and had confidence. Teachers are important.
The first teacher he came across was also an Aboriginal person - Adele Chapman-Burgess – so she was an example of success.
And he got on well with the principal at the time, Jim Roberts. “He was a really important influece”, says Michael Kirk today. The principal supported the student when he went onto the student representative council.
Michael’s exam results weren’t brilliant but he had people who saw a natural intelligence and potential achievement so they backed him. “I think having someone who believes in you and who believes in your ability – I valued that highly”.
“I wasn’t an A-grade student at school, but I was lucky in that I had teachers who believed in me and my abilities. And I always had a go; for me it was more important to do my best than anything else.”
When he left school, he thought about joining the police but decided it wasn’t for him and, in the end, became a tutor for Aboriginal students.
It was a post for a non-graduate so he decided to go try to get to university by doing the “Trent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science (TRACKS) Program” run by by UNE’s Aboriginal Centre Oorala. A year later, he enrolled in the Bachelor of Education course.
“The first year was really, really hard and I failed quite a few units, but I hit back in my second year and passed every unit after that,” Michael said. “It was a case of finding my feet, and the style of study and organisation that suited me. It’s been an up-and-down ride, but I knew from first-hand experience the positive difference that teachers could make.
Again, there was someone who believed in him, in this case, the Vice-chancellor, Professor Annabelle Duncan.
At UNE, he got involved in university life and became the co-founding president of the Indigenous Student Association and an elected student representative on the University Council.
“It’s very easy to become negative about matters, but I always sought to have a positive attitude and to take a collaborative approach; to go into every discussion with a potential solution for the people I represented,” he said.
Oorala director, Greg Davison, said Michael has been a conduit for the success of other Indigenous students. “All of us at Oorala are thrilled at Michael’s success and know that he will make an enormous contribution to our communities,” Greg said.
Michael Kirk is now a teacher in Grafton.
What he has learnt is that you take knock-backs but don’t stay down: “It’s easy to think you’re not good enough with a knock back but I restrategise and think ‘what can I do better’?”
He said the one thing he now tells his students is: “I don’t expect you to know everything but I do expect you to do your best”.
There is no simple answer to the question: how did he do it? But confidence – growing confidence – and the support of teachers who see potential would be part of it.
He clearly has great intelligence and that was spotted by a few people along his route. He did the hard work, stumbling but getting up and moving forward – but good teachers helped him.