Emily Severin - Class of 2018
Bachelor of Social Work & recipient of Leading Practitioner Award at the Victorian Homelessness Achievement Awards (2025)
“I moved to St Brigid’s from Sea Lake when I was 14 and started school there in Year 9. I didn’t care too much for school and honestly didn’t do too well in class as I found I wasn’t interested in the subjects, however I enjoyed Outdoor Education, Sport & History. I still didn’t really know what I wanted to do when Year 12 came around, but I did know that I enjoyed work placement at Horsham Specialist School, and teaching at a primary school in Ballarat. I also gained a lot from the school retreats where we went to Adelaide and Melbourne and got more insight into the experiences of people living through hardship.
I applied for a Bachelor in Social Work as I thought it would be cool to get into a job that is all about helping people, and I didn’t really want to do nursing. I only just got high enough of an ATAR to qualify and took my chance to get straight out of Horsham and go live & study in Melbourne. I found straight away that university was so different to school in the best way and I thrived as I was learning about things I actually cared about: social justice, human rights, the system and how we can support people who are impacted by the way our country works as a capitalist society influenced by neo liberal ideologies and the patriarchy.
I made friends for life who I connected with through our shared love of the same things. I completed my first placement in my third year of study, 500 hours at a residential aged care facility in Kensington that houses older Australians coming from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This was during covid so my main role was to apply learnt theory into practice & support people post bereavement to cope with grief and trauma. I was hired as a part time mental health support worker at this facility after I completed placement.
My second 500 hour placement in my 4th & final year of my degree was in a high-school well-being team, this was more of a counselling role. I found this to be really healing getting to support young people struggling in school as only a few years previous to this role, I was in the same boat & found I could relate to the students in a really real way. While I was on placement here, I was also working x3 part time jobs, one in an ‘learn through play’ program for 2-5 year olds, one babysitting and another part time position at Launch Housing, Elizabeth Street Common Ground (ESCG) which is a high rise building that houses 131 people and provides support through case management. I found my passion here, working effectively with people who present with complex needs & working out the best way I could support them to achieve goals in their lives.
Towards the end of my placement there was an opportunity to step into a secondment in case management through Launch Housing at ESCG. I took this with thanks and thrived in the role knowing that housing was a key area of social work I wanted to be part of as it covers so much more than just housing. My 4 week secondment was extended to 6 weeks and a position became available, I applied and was given my first full time job in social work as a case manager. I worked here for 2 years and enjoyed the experience thoroughly as I learnt so much & felt I was making a positive difference in the lives of people who otherwise had not always been treated fairly & with respect. Here I was nominated for the ‘Launch Legend’ award for a breakthrough in supporting a person who had historically always refused service, and a new approach I had adopted had paid off.
Next I applied for a job in Ballarat at CatholicCare as Sole Practitioner in the Housing Mental Health Pathways Program. This role involves supporting people exiting the Grampians Health adult acute ward to obtain & maintain tenancy through community outreach & linking in with additional supports including alcohol & other drug support, family violence services, disability & financial supports. I am currently 2 years into this role & adore the opportunity I have been gifted to contribute to positive outcomes in people’s lives, it fuels me & fullfills me. CatholicCare have supported my career growth through inviting me to also be part of the Homes First program, funding me to travel and work across Bendigo, Warrnambool & Horsham.
I have also been funded to attend conferences in Melbourne & Ballarat where I was awarded with the Leading Practitioner Award as a result of positive feedback I had so kindly & generously received from other organisations and more importantly the people I get to support. To be valued in work & in life is a feeling everyone deserves to experience, so I would encourage you to voice your appreciation for others because what you put out into this world you ultimately get back & it is a beautiful thing. I continue to work in this role & am being funded to attend another social work conference in Brisbane later in the year, something I never thought was a possible opportunity & for that I am so thankful.
For me, I decided social work because there are thousands of different career paths you can choose to specialise in & it’s nice to have choice & peace in knowing you can change your mind at any time. This job has never once been boring but has always been rewarding. I encourage anyone who feels they have a lot of empathy, enjoys supporting others & aspires to be an advocate for positive change in the world to look into this career.”
Emily Severin
Did you attend St Brigid's College? We would love to hear from you! Your stories and experiences are an important part of our College's history, and the journeys alumni provide great inspiration to our students. If you would like to share your experiences with us, please reach out to alumni@stbc.vic.edu.au
Read more Alumni Success Stories, and find out about reunions and other events on our Alumni page.
