28/08/2026
Before joining NASCA, Sarah's* attendance was sitting at 52%. She had experienced multiple suspensions, a police youth caution and physical altercations. This year she has maintained 100% attendance for 4 consecutive terms, is a School Leader and is giving 110% in her classes.
Sarah wrote a short story about her experience with NASCA:
"Sarah grew up with a quiet distance from anything that felt like country, culture, or family history. The word homeland never belonged to her daily life the way it did for others . She moved through school with a shield of bravado, a fighter's badge that kept people at bay and kept her from facing a longing she barely understood. Attendance slipped, rumours fluttered, and her name became a shorthand of trouble to the community. She wore her reputation as armour, even as a part of her wanted to belong to a story larger than a hallway drama she inhabited .
Then NASCA appeared, as a doorway to something she had never allowed herself to explore. The program spoke in terms of country, community, culture, family and memories, but not in a way that mocked what she did not know. It invited her to discover rather than dismiss, to connect rather than retreat. The first meeting felt comfortable and right, like it was something Sarah really wanted to learn more about, like every conversation was a map pointing toward a place she had never visited inside herself.
In the weeks that followed, mentors listened first. They asked about her life beyond the school gates, about her past and questions about herself but also what she knew about her culture and what she would like to learn. They did not insist she love what they loved; they offered spaces where she could learn to love the idea of belonging again. The approach was patient: small steps, consistent check-ins, and tasks that honoured her energy as a fighter while guiding it toward constructive leadership.
Sarah began to see culture not as distant tradition but as a living tool she could use to shape her future. She started to go to the NASCA room daily not as an outsider peering in but as a participant who could contribute. They learnt activities that carried memories of their culture, and she learned to share information with her peers and family. In a community, she helped people feel like they belonged and understood them as a whole, turning empty souls into a shared memory of care. The more she engaged, the more the idea of family widened from a small group to a broader circle of neighbours, mentors, and peers who had once been
strangers.
Attendance started to rise with a natural rhythm, not a chore. Sarah found herself arriving early for school, being excited to see what the day brings, and finally speaking from the stage with a voice that carried the weight of her newly discovered roots. She did not just repair an attendance record; she rewove a sense of self.
By the end, Sarah realised that growth is a journey back to one’s own culture, discovered not in isolation but through community. NASCA did not plant a culture where none existed; it helped her grow a garden of memories she could water daily. The girl who once felt lost in the hallways learned to lead through country, community, culture, family, and memory. Sarah now is a year 9 School Representative and looks forward to keep learning about her culture and feels proud that she has grown so much as a person."
Sarah’s journey shows what happens when a young woman receives wrap-around support and genuine opportunity: she takes the lead and rewrites her own story. 🌟
*not her real name and not her picture.
