Keisha is studying medicine at Monash University in Melbourne, and hopes to work as an Obstetrician on Thursday Island, her family’s homeplace.

A diligent student, and active member of her school community, Keisha served as school Vice-Captain, Athletics Captain, and Debating Captain.

When her ATAR result fell below the tough requirements for initial acceptance into medicine, Keisha was determined to find another way to pursue her dream.

Keisha completed a Bachelor of Science, complementing her studies with internships at Bupa and a medical research laboratory.

This cemented her desire to work in the medical field.

After graduating, she was accepted into a post-graduate degree in Medicine through an alternative entry pathway offered by Monash University, which aims to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduate doctors.

In 2017, the average ATAR of students who received an offer to study a Bachelor of Medicine at Monash University was 99.25.

Entry requirements often reflect demand, rather than the attributes needed to be successful in the medical field.

With Indigenous doctors making up just 0.4% of people currently practicing medicine, Keisha will be filling an important gap in the medical community.

“Indigenous Australians have the worst health outcomes in Australia, and since the stolen generation there has been mistrust in Australia’s health system. The fear of your child being taken, and a lack of understanding of traditional medical practices prevents many Indigenous Australians from seeking medical treatment today.”

Building employment opportunities and career pathways are key pillars of Bupa’s Reconciliation Action Plan, along with a commitment to ending rheumatic heart disease and publicly supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Dr Dwayne Crombie, Managing Director of Bupa Health Insurance saw the importance of a community led approach to health care as a young public health doctor, working to end rheumatic fever among Maori and Pacific Islander communities in South Auckland.

As a 10x10 corporate partner of CareerTrackers, Bupa is committed to hosting a minimum of ten interns each year, for the next ten years.

Keisha is one of 15 CareerTrackers interns who joined Bupa this summer, with nine working towards a career in health and care.

Reflecting on her ambition to be a doctor, Keisha said "I just want young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to know you're in control of your own destination no matter what the journey".

“We knew that we needed to become more targeted and practical in how we enacted our Plan. That is why we have focused on funding innovation towards ending RHD in Australia and on providing career pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

“RHD is an entirely preventable disease, yet Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are 20 times more likely to die from RHD than their non-Indigenous peers.

“We’ve invested money to create two END RHD communities in the Northern Territory to test a new community-led model of care in partnership with Telethon Kids and the Menzies School of Health Research. This model is now being expanded to another community in the Kimberley with the support of the Federal Government.

“Additionally, we have signed a partnership with the CareerTrackers internship program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students, committing to 10 internships a year for 10 years and launched a scholarship to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women at university,” Mr Bowden said.

Bupa has also announced its support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which calls for a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution and speaks to the work that must be done to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“Bupa’s support is underpinned by the voices of our employees who support constitutional recognition as an important step to improve the long-term health and emotional wellbeing of First Nations people,” Mr Bowden said.

“Before taking this position we spent time listening to our employees to understand why they felt it was important for Bupa to support the Statement and then worked with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to craft the wording of our support and highlight how it related to our purpose.

Karen Mundine, Chief Executive Officer of Reconciliation Australia welcomed the commitment from Bupa.

Bupa launched its first Reconciliation Action Plan in 2015 and has used learnings from its implementation to improve the latest Plan.

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Inclusion, diversity and Bupa

Meet Bupa's CareerTrackers interns - CareerTrackers interns with Dwayne Crombie. Natasha Ward, Tatiana Estrada and Samual Fisher

The woman who inspires me

Interning for the United Nations

Natasha, who took part in the CareerTrackers intern program, gave a powerful speech about the intergenerational impact of the Stolen Generation, how she navigated high school, her path to her dream university course and her plans for the future.

She set a tone of unity and hope for the future, and the pride Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have in their unbroken culture.

The National Apology made in Federal Parliament on 13 February 2008 was a landmark event, as the first formal, national recognition of past atrocities to Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders. Many Stolen Generations members felt their pain and suffering had been acknowledged for the first time and the nation perhaps better understood the need to right the wrongs of the past.

Carol Corzo, Bupa’s Head of Inclusion said, ”Natasha showed incredible courage speaking to an audience of Elders, survivors of the Stolen Generation and the many politicians in the room. She is a powerful orator whose authenticity in approach delivered important messages of inclusion, identity & belonging”.

The impact of Natasha’s words was evident with many Elders and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders approaching her with messages of support. Kevin Rudd referenced her in his speech.

The award is the highest recognition an employment partner can receive.

CareerTrackers is a national non-profit organisation that creates internship opportunities for Indigenous university students.

Carol Corzo, Bupa's Head of Inclusion, accepted the award on behalf of Bupa's interns, their managers, the Reconciliation Action Plan program and everyone who has been involved in supporting the company's CareerTrackers interns.

“We should be proud of Bupa’s involvement and leadership in this award winning CareerTrackers program and I want to say a special thank you to all of those who have brought it about," says Bupa Australia Chief Executive Officer Richard Bowden.

The celebrations continued with four Bupa interns recognised for their outstanding academic achievement with Distinction plus averages; Keisha Nash, Medical team (who is about to embark in postgraduate Medicine); Tatiana Estrada in Customer Growth (Psychology); Chelsea Lennon, BMVS (Health Promotion); and Samual Fisher, Customer Growth (Psychology student).

Natasha Ward, who was one of Bupa's first interns, delivered an inspirational key note speech on ‘identity and belonging’ to the 2,100 people present. It was a powerful and moving oration on the intergenerational impact of the stolen generation on identity and not knowing ‘who your mob is’.

Natasha shared the story of her heritage, how she navigated high school, her path to higher education and her plans for the future.

On the basis of this speech, Natasha has been invited to give the same address at the 10th Anniversary of National Apology to the Stolen Generation in Canberra on February 13^th 2018.

The CareerTrackers program has been a key achievement of Bupa's RAP program and over the past three years has grown rapidly from 2 to 16 interns by summer, 2017.

Bupa's commitment to the program was formalised by signing a 10x10 agreement, in 2016, meaning it will host at least 10 interns each year for the next 10 years.