A proud Ngugi woman from the Quandamooka nation, Karina Maxwell hopes to distil decades of experiences into PhD research aimed at inspiring future generations to overhaul social work and child protection systems.
The University of Queensland Alum hopes her postgrad journey will ‘do her parents proud’, including her late mother Dr Penny Tripcony AM, who was a prominent Indigenous academic in the field of Indigenous Education.
UQ has provided key milestones in Karina’s journey - the first being a Bachelor of Social Work, completed in 2007 as a mid-30s single mum who had previously worked in admin and banking after leaving school at Year 10.
“As an undergraduate, I was heavily involved with, and greatly supported by, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit (ATSISU) and was the President of Goorie Berrimpa Student Collective, including being UQ team manager for the Indigenous Uni Games and making some lifelong friends on campus,” she said.
“After graduating, I worked in a public service policy roles but gravitated to frontline social work, much of it involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, family support and child protection.”
More recently, Karina has been working as a casual academic in the UQ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work in the mandatory course Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“Coming back to UQ after working frontline for a while, was a no brainer for me. I love the atmosphere and the people here, both students and staff. I love giving back to my profession and sharing my knowledge.”
With that in mind, Karina was recently accepted into a Masters of Philosophy as a pathway to a PhD (while finding time to Chair the UQ Indigenous Alumni reference group and being involved with UQ Social Work Alumni as well).
Karina has juggled campus roles with being an Elder in Council for the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) and convenor of the Greenslopes Reconciliation Action Group.
“And if there’s anytime left for socialising, I can often be found at trivia nights … I really love 80s music trivia and can often name a song in the first bar,” she said.