2019 PESA Scholar

2021 Australian Industry Scholar

“It has been a tough couple of years for all of us. For the young. The middle. And the older. There is some aspect of all our lives that has been significantly impacted by the pandemic, whether it be social, mental, emotional, spiritual, or physical. We each bear our scars. It is what we do in response to our circumstances that defines us though.”

In 2019, Jackson was awarded the BBM Performing Arts Scholarship for Public Speaking, which was to enable him to travel overseas for the world finals of the international public speaking competition PESA.

When COVID shut Australia’s borders, Jackson was able to rethink his scholarship plans.

“I belief that my purpose in the world is to guide, in both small and big ways, the world towards a more synchronised method of coexisting with the planet. The world is currently in a dysfunctional state (exacerbated by COVID-19), so to alleviate this struggle it needs multidisciplinary teams of experts to band together.

“My role in this is from the healthcare point of view, specifically promoting good health for population as a whole. Much of our health (if not all of it) is determined by the environment we are surrounded by (physically, socially, and emotionally) so dealing with these determinants of health is my purpose. Climate action is an immediate example of dealing with the physical determinants of health.

“I recently took ‘Health Challenges for the 21st Century’ at university to educate me on the area. As a future surgeon (hopefully cardiothoracic), I will be in a position to guide people in the right direction, mainly due to my education and passion. I enter the Doctor of Medicine next year, following the completion of my Bachelor of Medical Science this year, and will then be formally extending my medical training.

“This leverages me into a unique position, where I have the knowledge and critical thinking capacity to be a leader and an innovator. This involved educating others on their health, improving individual’s health, and developing action plans to combat population health by addressing the social, physical, and emotional determinants of ill-health.

“This purpose and impact align with the UNSDG framework as they are centred on improving the populations health in ways that respond to climate change, education, and overall health indicators (physical, social, and emotional).

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being: being a doctor has a large influence on this SDG as you are equipped with a vast array of knowledge and skills that can inform the populations health. Subject-specific knowledge that can be applied to give a real benefit to those who need it most.

Goal 4: Quality Education: as a doctor and health professional you have the opportunity to offer health literacy to patients that visit you, and thereby improving the quality of their education. By helping vulnerable patients to be more self-sufficient via their health education, you are having an impact on population health.

Goal 13: Climate Action: climate action is one of (if not the most) pressing issue of the 21st century. With limited time to take action it is important to identify people who are cognizant of their impact on the environment and inspire them to change the way others around them conduct themselves. I believe that being a health professional and a leader in the industry places you in a position where you have the potential to drive climate action.

The funding supplied by BBM would allow me to engage in a Diploma of Business and Diploma of Leadership and People Management. This qualification would gear me to be able to inspire, motivate, and lead larger groups of people with a united purpose. Change happens on a larger scale when people band together for a common cause. As a health professional, specifically a doctor, we have the knowledge to lead health-related change, but so frequently lack the leadership and management skills to realise this change.

Furthermore, Health Challenges for the 21st century (1205MED) gave me some insight into how our environment (physical, social, and emotional) determine our health and expectancies. Climate change is a pressing determinant that is having broad impacts that no one had hypothesised. A range of new diseases are being presented that were thought to have been largely eradicated, and new heat-related illnesses are being presented. Injuries and loss of housing are also on the rise. This course made me more aware of the breadth of health-related issues in the world and informed my purpose and the impact I can make.

Moreover, studying epidemiology (2220MED) educated me on the distribution, causes, and determinants of disease, especially in a post-pandemic world from COVID-19. This course identified ways that health can be monitored at a population level, and various interventions that can be made to improve the health of a population.
Overall, the educational outcomes that the BBM scholarship has conferred to lead to an impact on the UNSDGs, a sustainable Australia, and have equipped me to be a practical and holistic leader of the future.”