University of Newcastle Employability Excellence Awards: Maggie Fulwood wins a Work Integrated Learning Student of the Year Award for stand out performance in speech pathology

And, there's no question she's good at what she does - having won a Work Integrated Learning Student of the Year Award at the University of Newcastle (UON) Employability Excellence Awards.

The awards celebrate the achievements of students, staff and industry partners in preparing graduates for the real world, and Ms Fulwood's performance on speech pathology placement at ORS Broadmeadow earned her a top gong.

"I worked with one particular client who didn't want to do any form of therapy, so I worked with my supervisor to create functional activities to help motivate him," she said.

"He has quite a significant intellectual disability and didn't see the point in it, it wasn't fun, he just refused and didn't want to.

"When we went out there and kept seeing him, I felt like we clicked a bit and he started engaging - we took a slow approach, starting with easy, rewarding tasks before getting into trickier stuff.

"We just took really small steps with lots of positive reinforcement so he stayed engaged and felt good."

She also provided complex clinical services to NDIS participants who had suffered strokes, lived with neurodegenerative conditions, intellectual disabilities and syndromes both in person and through telehealth.

Ms Fulwood said she was honoured to have won an award.

"Communication is the foundation of any human interaction that we have, but the way that we can develop our therapy to meet clients' needs and support them to live a happier lifestyle is amazing," she said.

"If we can support clients across their lifespan to communicate better and more easily, and to have a more enjoyable life, that's my main motivator."

The awards recognised eight students who excelled in their placement, five staff and 13 businesses who helped students have an impactful work placement.

Last year, students undertook more than 30,000 practical learning experiences.

The university's vice-chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky said work-integrated learning gives students meaningful firsthand experience in their field.

"As a university that is committed to our region, we also recognise the contributions of businesses who take on students," he said.

"For businesses, taking on a student not only gives them practical experience, it creates a pipeline of future talent, helping businesses to identify high quality graduates and attract and retain students before they graduate."

The 2022 awards were presented at a ceremony on Wednesday evening.

Full list of award winners below:

Work Integrated Learning Student of the Year: Brittany Sharpe; Alix Loades; Stephanie Kelly; Maggie Fulwood.

Student Employability Excellence Award: Abigail Hall; Mitchell Burton.

Student Intern/Cadet of the Year: Jessica Haugh.

Student Entrepreneur of the Year: Sarah Williams.

Work Integrated Learning Staff Member of the Year: Hemal Patel; Cameron Beard and Kim Maund (Joint); Meegan McHugh; Peter Gogarty; Saskia Behan.

Industry New Partner in Employability: Elekta Pty Ltd.

Work Integrated Learning Hall of Fame: Hunter School of Performing Arts; NSW Health Pathology - Forensic Medicine Social Work; the Dietetics Department at Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital Health Campus; Snowy Hydro; St John the Baptist Primary School; Barwon Health; Queensland XRay; Regional Youth Support Services Inc; Australian Taxation Office (Newcastle Office); Newcastle High School Cooks Hill Campus; Callaghan Colleges; Early Links.

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