Shooting Stars participants Shari Comeagain and Lainie Zepeda have travelled to Perth for the Women in Mining and Resources WA Summit (WIMWA)
WIMWA aims to encourage women to increase their presence in the industry, provide a strong network for women, and for the industry to be proactive in attracting and retaining women in the resources sector.
Both Shari and Lainie have been part of Shooting Stars for the past two years and said the Program had inspired them to make the most of their education.
“Before joining Shooting Stars, I wasn’t really interested in attending university and with the leadership camps it really opened up my eyes to what university is about and made me want to attend university more, “Comeagain said.
“You have that support there and if you want someone to talk to they are there, it helps a lot when you come to school and you know you have support.”
Shooting Stars is an initiative of Netball WA and Glass Jar Australia and uses netball and other tools as the vehicle to encourage greater engagement and attendance at school of young Aboriginal girls living in WA’s remote communities and regional towns.
To date, Shooting Stars has eight sites across WA which engage with over 350 students, with the ambition to work with 20 schools by 2021.
The WIMWA Summit allowed Shooting Stars participants to reach out to learn about roles within the mining sector.
“We had the pleasure of hosting the Shooting Stars participants at the annual Women in Mining WA summit,“ Sandfire’s Sustainability & community senior advisor Colleen Ferrier said.
“It was a great opportunity for Sandfire’s people to meet with the young leaders in the program the day before and to share their stories and to give them insight into careers in mining.”
“We look forward to following their journeys as they progress through their education.”
Both Lainie and Shari said being involved in Shooting Stars had not only allowed them to embrace their full potential in the classroom, but have made lifelong friends.
“We never really had that sisterhood connection, but because of Shooting Stars it has brought us closer, you can relate to the girls more because they are in the same boat as you.”
As for Lainie, Shooting Stars has enabled her to take a holistic view of her potential and achievements.
“It’s made me think more about communities and made me proud about my community and where I have come from,” she said.
