Meet Elise Kellett

Bachelor of Health Science (Therapeutic Recreation)

I wake up every day knowing that I am studying to be involved with a profession that changes people's lives for the better.

I'll be honest here, I used to really hate school and never saw myself going to university. I worked in retail for five years before reaching a point where I realised I enjoyed the helping aspect of my job, and wanted to do more but couldn't in the position I was in. After acknowledging this, I decided to move from full time employment to part time, and found a volunteering position with The Starlight Children's Foundation. This soon became a casual position in children's hospitals across Sydney and involved me going around wards and doing workshops with adolescents, engaging them in interactive activities and learning new skills. This work was so rewarding and needless to say, I quickly fell in love with my new role.

Within the hospital environment I met countless staff, all with different occupations and different experiences; I learnt a lot from being in this environment. The pivotal moment though was when I met a Diversional Therapist who was using leisure and recreational activity to aid patient rehabilitation. Straight away I asked, "How do I make this a career? From here, my search began to find a diversional therapy program that would kick-start my career. I didn't search for long before coming across the Bachelor of Health Science (Therapeutic Recreation) (opens in a new window) program offered at Western Sydney University.

Throughout my program I have had countless highlights, including Diversional Therapy week, where students including myself ran therapeutic workshops to encourage our peers to engage in leisure experiences as a tool in helping decrease stress in the lead up to exams.

I am currently in my final year of study and once graduated, I intend to create my own diversional therapy program to be implemented in adult hospitals specifically targeting the adolescent population.

Elise is now a graduate from Bachelor of Health Science (Therapeutic Recreation)