Swan Hill sisters take flight with AFL SportsReady

Proud Taungurung sisters Teneille and Ashley Johnson from Swan Hill have thanked AFL SportsReady for giving them the opportunity to get a head start in their careers.

‘Back when I was in high school there were limited job prospects in regional Victoria so I had to take initiative and find a pathway into the Finance and Banking industry,’ 23 year old Teneille explained.

‘My school teacher told me about the school-based traineeship with ANZ Swan Hill which I saw as the perfect way to break into the field,’ she added.

Teneille started her traineeship in 2009 while studying in her final years at high school. After graduating from her AFL SportsReady she went on to commence a Commerce degree at Swinburne University.

‘My sister Ashley also decided to do a traineeship seeing as it was a good opportunity to get a career start. She even has the same Indigenous mentor as I did, Matthew Whelan, who provided me with so much support and guidance,’ said Teneille.

Ashley, 21, began her AFL SportsReady journey in 2016 as part of VTEC’S Indigenous Australian Employment Development Program with the University of Melbourne’s Murrup Barak faculty.

‘I saw how hard my sister was working and I was inspired by her. She was working two jobs and doing her traineeship as well. She has always encouraged me to follow my own dreams and has supported me through my own journey,’ smiled Ashley.

‘I applied for the Indigenous Employment Development program because I knew that the chance to work at University of Melbourne would be an opportunity of a lifetime.’ 

Differing from her Finance and Banking savvy sister, Ashley’s strengths are in Business and Administration which is relevant to in current role at the University.

‘I get to work across diverse departments organising events, helping to coordinate catering, setting up meetings and managing finances for different professors and areas of the University,’ said Ashley excitedly.

‘Every single day I am exposed to new and exciting information. At the moment I am working in Earth Sciences so I get to see the labs, learn about climate change and geology.’

‘I’m so happy to be working around such influential people. And I’m also so grateful for all the support AFL SportsReady and Matthew Whelan constantly give me. I still can’t believe I’m doing what I’m doing, I really do feel extremely lucky.‘

Ashley is due to complete the program at the end of 2018. Both sisters are currently living in Melbourne and often travel back to Swan Hill to visit their family.

The team at AFL SportsReady are excited to see what the future holds for the girls.

DATE: 12th of January 2017

AUTHOR: Marissa Pagliarello

IMAGE: Ashley and Teneille Johnson