โI didnโt have much family left after my mum passed away, and my dad has been gone since I was young,โ she reflects.
โWhen I arrived here in 2012, it was a big change for me. I didnโt know my way around. I didnโt speak English. And coming from a non-educated home, it was very challenging.โ
Unlike her peers in Australia, Sadia hadnโt attended preschool or kindergarten.
As she grew older, she realised there was an opportunity for her to be the first one in her family to complete high school.
But the journey was far from easy.
Sadia experienced violence at home. At 16, she felt she had no choice but to leave.
โMy home environment wasnโt the best place to be โ it didnโt feel safe,โ she says.
โI decided to leave. I stayed in multiple places during my high school years. I struggled to find somewhere stable. I remember moving about five times in my first year out of home.
โI was constantly looking for somewhere to go, using every avenue I could. Iโd look at Facebook groups for private rooms because I wasnโt old enough to legally rent my own place. I had no one to support me.
โWhen I moved into the first room, it was a huge change,โ she continues. โI felt empty and alone and was asking myself, โWhat am I doing with my life?โโ
Sadia had to work after school every day to be able to afford a room to rent.
โI couldnโt do normal things like hang out with friends after school,โ she recalls. โI worked in a lot of different cafes. Then I worked at Woolworths. It didnโt give me much money to live.โ
The only assistance Sadia experienced was from one of her teachers.
โShe sometimes gave me food for lunches because I didnโt have any,โ she recalls.
โI used to not feel like going to school, but I forced myself to go because I knew it would help me do something with my life.โ
Sadia struggled with the uncertainty and lack of stability in her life. She felt lonely, anxious and depressed and had to navigate the complex emotions she was feeling on her own.
It took until she finished high school and turned 18 before she could legally rent her first place and find some stability.
โIt was the best because I finally felt what it was like to have a secure place to live,โ she says. โBefore that, people I rented from would tell me to move out every few months.
โIt felt nice knowing I could finally afford it and had privacy for the first time.โ
In Year 11, Sadiaโs teacher told her about Youth Off The Streetsโ National Scholarship Program.
โShe told me she could help me apply and we worked on the application together,โ she says. โI felt like I needed to grasp any opportunity that came my way.โ
Sadia was matched with her mentor, David Goldman, by co-ordinators of the National Scholarship Program.
โNot only in financial terms โ which was amazing โ but also having my mentor and the scholarship team felt like I finally had people out there who cared about me,โ she explains.
โDavid was there for me as the support person I never had growing up.
โHe helped me throughout every step of the process. I could speak to him about anything and tell him when I was struggling.โ
Her mentor, David Goldman, explains how rewarding it was for him to mentor Sadia.
โLife has been a bit unkind to Sadia, and sheโs experienced difficult circumstances,โ he says.
โItโs incredibly satisfying and motivating when you can see someone like her, who has huge potential, find the drive and determination to succeed and achieve her goals.โ
Sadia became the first in her family to graduate from high school and enter university โ just like she had hoped โ and David helped her get into her dream nursing course.
โMy first choice was always a nursing degree,โ she says. โBut because of the disruptions I experienced in high school, I didnโt get into it at first.
โMy mentor helped me look at all the different options.โ
โI was trying to be creative and help her find different paths to the course,โ David explains.
โShe speaks five languages, but because English isnโt her first language, she found it challenging to get the mark to get straight into nursing, as well as the other circumstances that surrounded her when she was doing her HSC.
โWeโd meet in a library to review all the options and do practice exams,โ he continues. โIt took about six to nine months for her to sit the entry exams while trying to get into TAFE courses.
โEventually, we found out that Notre Dame University holistically looked at the applicant, not just their marks. I encouraged her to share her story with them if she was comfortable.โ
Sadia completed an interview with Notre Dame and shared with them everything she had experienced.
โRight after the interview, she got the phone call that she was given a place to do a bridging course โ if she did well enough, it would be highly likely for her to get into nursing the following year,โ David says.
Sadia completed four courses with Notre Dame and was offered a place in nursing earlier this year.
โIโm finally living the dream I wanted,โ she says. โIโve always wanted to help people.
โMaking a difference in other peopleโs lives just makes me happy,โ she adds. โNursing was the perfect thing for me to choose.โ
David says that Sadia’s courage over the past two years got her to the point she is today.
โItโs been an incredible and difficult journey for her as a young person,โ he says. โSheโs done so much independently and has shown remarkable resilience. Sheโs an incredible young woman.โ
Sadia shares that if thereโs one thing sheโs learned, itโs to never give up.
โNever lose hope because you never know what is around the corner for you,โ she explains. โIf you stay strong, you will get through it โ there is something out there waiting for you and if you want to achieve it, you can.
โNo one can take your dream away from you.โ
Click here to learn more about the National Scholarship Program.