News Archive

Every student embarks on a unique journey of discovery. For Angel Hayward, the journey may just be starting.

Angel comes from a strong Noongar extended family with an academic focus. Her father Eric completed a UWA Law degree, her aunt Bonnie a UWA Masters of Social Work, and her grandfather Eric Hayward Snr was a lecturer at Murdoch University. It is no wonder Angel had her eyes on UWA from a young age.

Angel came to the School of Indigenous Studies (SIS) at UWA in 2011 as a Bachelor of Arts student. A resident of both St George’s College and St Catherine’s College, she won the Rowley Foundation Scholarship in Cultural Studies and accepted every other opportunity presented to her, all the while playing AFL Women’s football.

In 2013 Angel went on a study abroad trip to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, followed by an exchange at University College Dublin where, in addition to her Sociology and Anthropology units, she enrolled in Politics, Irish Music, History and Archaeology of the Vikings. She also completed two Perth internships at the South West Land and Sea Council (SWALSC) and Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

Naturally, when Angel completed her degree in 2014 SIS was reluctant to let her go. She is now a staff member with the School’s Outreach team, inspiring future Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

But at twenty-one Angel’s journey has just begun. She was accepted for Honours in Anthropology and is interested in enrolling in the future, or continuing onto Law (JD). At this moment, she is involved in an intensive 5-week Diplomacy Training Program with OXFAM and has just returned from her first training in Sydney. She hopes the training will be her stepping-stone to attend the United Nations Forum on Indigenous Issues, an aspiration she’s held since she was a child.

Enquiring where Angel gets her focus, she said, "My parents and grandparents have struggled, but their lives have given me direction. It’s because of them that I’m who I am, and where I am, today."