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My Australia Awards Story: Finding purpose and making an impact
What are your most memorable experiences living and studying in Australia?
I have a lot of memorable experiences living and studying in Australia. The first thing that I will never forget was the warm welcome and kindness of the Australian community. I experienced it during my very first day in Australia, when my carer and I couldn't find our way back to our accommodation after purchasing some necessities from the shopping centre. An Australian lady noticed that we had been roaming around the mall for quite a long time, so she approached us and we told her that we were trying to get back to our boarding house. The Australian lady was so kind, she took us to our accommodation facility with her car.
I also highly appreciate the warm welcome and accessible support system provided to me by Flinders University. It was the first time I experienced a full inclusive education system! The faculty members gave me an opportunity to complete a job placement project at the university, where I facilitated the accessibility and inclusion workshop for people with intellectual disabilities. Through that placement project, I was also given the chance to work with people who have intellectual disabilities by codesigning the guidelines for creating universally accessible documents.
What I appreciate the most about Flinders University and the Australian education system is that they always ensure that people with disabilities are included in all of their programs, whether they are related to studies, career development or even personal development. I remember when I was assigned to complete a 10,000-word literature review on inclusive education advocacy for people with disabilities, as my final project during my last semester at the uni. Since it was a literature review and research project, I had to complete a lot of visual tasks such as developing a data extraction table, infographics, etc. To achieve inclusion, the requirements and learning outcomes of the project must be the same for me and for other non-disabled students. The difference is that I had to go to the Student Learning Support Services (SLSS) so that they could help me complete all the visual elements of the project. With the help of the accessible support system and the reasonable adjustment that they provided to me, I managed to get an HD (High Distinction) in my final literature review project. I will surely never forget all these experiences living and studying in Australia!
What makes Australia a good place for postgraduate education?
Aside from the fact that the Australian education system is inclusive for people with disabilities, I also appreciate that Australian universities prioritise mental health and emotional stability. Flinders University has a lot of counselling sessions and student wellbeing programs, and all faculty members and staff always remind the students to ensure that that they are mentally healthy and emotionally stable. I hope we have the same kind of accessibility and support system in the Philippines. These factors make Australia a good place for postgraduate education.
As Filipino scholar, what are you most proud of?
As a Filipino scholar, I am most proud of the resilience and determination of the Filipino people. This is especially true for people with disabilities like me. No matter what adversities we encounter, we will surely find a way to make it!
Give one word to describe your Australia Awards journey.
One word to describe my Australia Awards journey is "fantastic."
Empowered by your Australian education, how do you plan to make a difference in your field, community, or organisation in the Philippines?
As an Australia Awards alumna, I would like to concentrate more on the inclusive education sector. I want to help some disabled people's organisations (DPOs) to design an inclusive learning environment for people with disabilities. I will start first by designing and implementing my re-entry action plan, which is to develop a module on inclusive learning environment for people with visual impairment. This module will be developed and implemented with Resources for the Blind Inc., a local organisation for people with visual impairment in the Philippines. I also plan to involve learners with visual impairment and educators in creating this module, to apply the codesign principle which I have learned in Australia. I am so excited to make a difference in the PWD sector in the Philippines!
Maria Adisa Nahil completed her Masters of Disability Policy and Practice from Flinders University in 2025. She now develops online training programs that help teachers create more inclusive classrooms for Filipino learners with visual impairments.
