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Graduate takes centre court on Palm Island
A University of the Sunshine Coast Communication graduate will team up with Australian netball legend Vicki Wilson next week to inspire more girls to take up sport.
Emma Jane Clark, 24, now a Projects Officer at Womensport Queensland, will fly to Palm Island on Monday 14 March to launch an after-school netball program funded by the Cathy Freeman Foundation.
“I never thought straight out of uni I would secure such a fantastic job that can open so many doors,” said Emma Jane, based at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
The Kedron resident, formerly of Sunrise Beach, said the Palm Island program would provide opportunities for girls on the island to participate in sport.
Vicki Wilson is a former world champion and Commonwealth Games medallist.
“I realise how lucky I am to be working with these great female athletes on a program to increase the health and wellbeing of a Queensland community,” Emma Jane said.
She was a volunteer and then an intern with Womensport during her final semesters at USC last year.
Emma Jane, who as a teenager competed in netball, tennis and surf life saving, said a research project during her University degree investigated links between gender and sports media.
“This led me to the realisation that women are significantly underrepresented,” she said. It sparked her ambition to find a job that boosted women’s sport.
“I majored in Journalism and minored in Public Relations at USC and am able to apply the knowledge I gained throughout my degree to my new role,” she said.
“The courses are so helpful and realistic to prepare students for the ‘real world’. At uni I was part of a PR project that raised money for not-for-profit group Sunnykids, which taught me problem-solving skills to run an event from start to finish.
“I’m now also working on the Hyundai Community Sports Scholarship Program which provides encouragement for women and girls in sport around the state.”
Emma Jane, who attended Matthew Flinders Anglican College, will officially receive her degree in April at USC’s Graduation Ceremony.
She has her own online sports column called “EJ in the action”.
– Julie Gatehouse