Our responsibility to our students
Looking after the emotional wellbeing of our future health leaders
The years at university bring tough moments, and it’s the job of Jacqui Tonks to help students from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences to overcome the personal challenges that may jeopardise their studies.
As Manager, Student Life, she and her team look after the day-to-day pastoral care of students, helping them through pressures such as family problems, grief and mental illness when they start to impact seriously on their wellbeing.
“Students with severe personal issues that end up affecting their studies can come and seek advice on the best member of staff to speak to, the best university service to access, and the best external service to access – for example Beyond Blue or the Victorian Doctor’s Health Program.”
Jacqui’s team are also involved with other initiatives, such as assisting with the film Different Paths Leading to the Same Place, which was recently shot here on campus.
After 14 years at Monash and nine years in student services, Jacqui finds her job increasingly rewarding.
“I think there’s a sense of satisfaction when you have a student who has previously struggled with some really significant stuff outside of the uni, who’s managed to get through their studies and graduate out the other side,” she says.
“I recently went to a graduation dinner, and saw the students who were previously at the point where they were considering stopping studying, and we were able to counsel them on what their options were. And with some hard work on their part you see them come out the other side, and that’s really lovely.”
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