Big Red to Big Apple

My name is Lisa-Marie Rodd,I am a Noongar and Banjima girl. I am currently a year 12 student at Karratha Senior HIgh School. I have aspirations to go to university to complete a nursing degree upon graduation at the end of this year. I enjoy sports, modelling, spending time out bush with family and friends and experiencing all array of new opportunities.

I would like to be the encouragment and inspiration in my community for all women, young and old, to never give up on their dreams and to make the best out of life.

On Friday, 7th September 2013, myself and and another young Indigenous woman from the Pilbara, Jahlana Roe will hopefully experience an opportunity of a lifetime by walking down the runway as part of New York Fashion Week for prominent Australian designer, Ruth Tarvydas at the Altman Building. This experience will be coupled with the opportunity to get out into the community and visit a number of schools and community groups in disadvantaged communities and shre our stories and experiences. 

Via the Luke Adams Foundaiton and it's Roebourne Girls FX Academy, this opportunity of a lifetime is awaiting in New York, but first I need to raise some funds to assist in my training and travel costs. Seizing this opportunity will allow me to provide this encouragement and inspiration to my people. Importantly this is not only about Jahlana and myself, it is also about returning to our communities and being role models not only for our own generation, but future generations.

I have never left Australian shores before, and have a mixture of feelings ranging from being overwhelemed and unbelievably excited. This will be a life changing experience, and one that will see Jahlana and I standing tall as young Indigenous women representing our communities, families and friends.

This initiative builds on ongoing leadership training as part of the Luke Adams Foundation's Roebourne Girls FX program which is preparing young woman like myself and Jahlana  to take on key leadership roles within our respective communities, and more importantly progress into meaningful forms of employment. Roebourne Girls FX Groups is a leadership program utilising the attraction of the arts  (song, dance, drama) as a platform to address the issues of self-esteem, healthy relationships, sexual and women’s health, drug and alcohol abuse, healthy lifestyles and future direction, developing tomorrow’s role models.

This program has been designed to have specifically targeted programs to build strong independent women with a ‘voice’ in community.

Emphasis is placed on promoting a positive peer culture whereby participants are encouraged to attend school regularly and are not to be involved in the justice system.

The Roebourne Girls FX Group is open to all females living in the Shire of Roebourne aged between 12 and above. The program aims include:

• Encourage school attendance and participation
• Strengthening student engagement with school and improving attitudes to schooling
• Equip the girls with skills such as communication, teamwork, confidence, and experience to become future leaders within their communities or in the public arena
• Improving opportunities for post-school pathways
• Promote and support positive learning experiences that foster success.

The Pilbara is not only about mining- we want to be seen as a culturally diverse and exciting place to be. Unlike other leadership programs, The Luke Adams Foundation is unique in that it is able to provide lucrative opportunities and outcomes long term. New York Fashion Week 2013 is the first of such opportunities.