Indigenous ball success
SHE may have been exhausted as she made her way home from the second annual USQ NAIDOC Ball, but for Dr Raelene Ward it was all well worth it. Dr Ward is a registered nurse and practice manager in Aboriginal Health at USQ and said the glamorous cocktail evening was a well-earned celebration to reflect on another year of supporting indigenous students through university, improving research into indigenous areas and furthering the cause of campus organisations such as the Indigenous Student Association and the College for Indigenous Studies, Education and Research (CISER).
There were plenty of serious elements to the evening and guest speakers who took revellers through the ins and outs of what their organisations had attempted and achieved throughout the year, but there was plenty of time to enjoy the entertainment and take a turn on the dancefloor.
“Even though we had formalities to follow and timelines to keep, we made sure we had a good time,” Dr Ward said.
“Given the time of year it was a chance to chill down and an opportunity to celebrate what we’ve done across the campuses.
“It was also an amazing day overall because the same day someone in our team won a Bela Award, which was the 2019 professional staff awards for excellence, and we also had a two-day elders’ forum and brought in more than 30 elders for the first time in 10 years.” She said plans were already in place to hold a 2020 ball.