22 November 2024

Why I Give: Trish O’Brien 
The gift of education

In her long career as a nurse and teacher, Trish O’Brien has met many people and heard many stories. But although she only briefly met Mariam at a Monash alumni event, her story left its mark. Originally from Afghanistan, Mariam had made it to Australia by boat with her sister Asma. She was determined to train as a doctor and spend her life helping others.

“Their boat sank in the middle of the sea. They clung on for hours until they were rescued,” says Trish. “And now, they just want to give back. When I was introduced to Mariam, she was studying a Bachelor of Science, and then was accepted to study medicine. And that’s when I really thought, yes, there’s a place for me [to help] here. I want to see Mariam graduate. I want to see her sister do well.”

Monash alumna Mariam Rahim

With Mariam as her inspiration, Trish has decided to leave a gift to Monash in her Will, which will support students like her in overcoming barriers through a scholarship.

Learn more about Mariam and Asma's story in Monash Life - Refugee spirit fires a future of hope

Lifelong learning

It might seem like a big decision to make based on a brief encounter. But in fact, Trish is no stranger to Mariam’s mindset. As a nurse, she herself has contributed to society all her life – and a hard-won education has made that possible.

A self-described “country bumpkin from southwest New South Wales”, Trish never thought she would be able to afford to go to university after her father died when she was nine. Wanting to get out of the country and out of town, she took up a nursing traineeship after finishing high school. It was a hard slog: she worked nights to pay her way. “I would have liked to have done medicine, but my marks were never good enough for that!”

Her career in nursing took her all over the world: renal dialysis in England, an archaeological site 50 kilometres from the Syrian border, looking after a private patient with a neurological condition in Turkey. But she was eager to get back into education, and in 1983, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies and German at Monash University.

She then pursued a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Monash, with units in health economics – one of the first nurses to get involved in the program. “There was one other nurse, but mostly the students were fairly high-powered males working with BP and Melbourne Water, so it was a very competitive environment,” she remembers.

Community health

Trish’s gift is also rooted in her later career, which has given her a passion for community health, medicine and research. After her MBA, she taught medical students the autopsy program at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, which was affiliated with Monash, for 25 years.

She found that the Institute greatly values teaching and research to benefit the community and was involved in starting its Family Health Information Service. This vital service enables families to be sensitively informed when a family member has died of a previously unknown condition with a genetic basis.

“The program has been able to contribute to the wellbeing of the siblings of these people who have died suddenly – I guess that's where my research focus comes in,” she says. “I don't know much about genetics, but that's where we're heading. More research in that area would be great.”

Because of her experience, Trish is eager to encourage future generations of doctors to consider just how vital their role in good health for all can be. “I really want there to be better medicine for the community,” she says. “I recently heard of a program where a GP was reflecting about her experiences. She was almost deterred: people said: why don't you have more ambition? Why aren't you a consultant? That resonated with me.”

A valued gift

Trish now has Parkinson’s Disease, which has forced her to retire from the Institute. It has made her, she says, very aware of the importance of writing her Will.

Trish at the Matheson Society lunch with David Copolov, AO Professor of Psychiatry and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Monash University.

Changing it to generously leave a gift to Monash was simple, she says. Following her MBA, she stayed connected with the university as an alumni, where she was introduced to Mariam - and now through the Matheson Society,  a community established to thank and recognise people who have made the decision to leave a gift in their Will to Monash.

“I’ve always kept in touch, and I like Monash because you feel involved,” she says. “There is always a follow-up, and the staff make me feel included. I’ve revised my Will, and I just hope that what’s left will be beneficial. Hopefully, there’ll be enough for a scholarship for someone.”