In the paddocks and across the ditch for Dr Chelsea

RURAL FOCUS

After finishing six long years of study at the University of Adelaide in 2015 to obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Chelsea moved to rural South Australia and worked in mixed animal practice.

In 2019 she spent some time working in Fiji before settling in New Zealand, where she spends her days ‘working with production animals in sunny Southland,’ located on the South Island.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic presented some challenges like adapting to telemedicine, but Chelsea acknowledges that she works for a great business and was fortunate to keep her job during this period. She was forced to cancel a working trip to the UK and Europe, but was free to travel around her own ‘backyard in New Zealand which is amazing, so can’t complain!’

The support received from her local CEF in Torrens Valley was ‘so important’ as it enabled Chelsea to go to university.

Veterinary studies have extremely high course fees, not all of which are covered by government assistance (HECS), and there are also significant costs associated with the required clinical placements, a struggle many students doing courses with practical requirements face.

While she doesn’t recall any specific challenges of the time, Chelsea displays true country qualities, saying ‘I tend to just get on with it.’

Life has taken Chelsea far from her days of CEF support, but she certainly has not forgotten the importance of the organisation.

She reads the newsletters and keeps up with social media but admits she hasn’t kept in contact over the years and would love to re-engage with CEF saying, ‘I do consider it very important to stay connected and help other rural and regional school leavers.’