When Eunice Sabanovic moved from Mildura to Melbourne with just $20 in her pocket, she had no job, no home, and no plan except to make life better.
Eunice Sabanovic spent her childhood in Mildura, a town known for its rich Aboriginal heritage and strong connections to the Latje Latje people. Her family were big on education and sent her to a local private school.
“Being the only Indigenous child in the classroom was a bit challenging. I had a lovely Indigenous support worker who was helpful, but she wasn’t Indigenous herself, so it made it a bit hard to connect on that level.”
After year 12 Eunice enrolled in a psychology degree but soon realised it wasn’t for her. “I just didn’t understand the content very well and my teachers told me I didn’t have enough life experience at the time, so I decided to try something else.”
She got a reception job at an employment agency and when it closed down, worked on reception at the Mallee District Aboriginal Services (MDAS). Eventually she decided to move to Melbourne.
“I landed in Melbourne with $20 in my pocket, nowhere to live and no job. My mum thought I was crazy, but I was determined to make it work,” she says.
Eunice worked as a cleaner at Crown, then on the Metro Tunnel project doing accounting work, and later at NAB where she was working when she met her now husband on a dating app. When her daughter Emily was born, everything changed. “I’d had job after job after job,” she says. “When she was about one, I said to myself, I need something with substance. I need something so that when she’s growing up, she can see that mum’s making a difference in the world.”
Eunice on her way to New Zealand to attend a conference in 2025.
One night, Eunice found herself scrolling through university websites. “I went on the RMIT website and thought, ‘maybe this could work’. I saw they had daycare on site, which was very important to me. I just wanted my daughter near me. So, I applied for the Certificate IV in Youth Work, got accepted, signed her up for daycare, and it’s been a really good journey from there.”
Now studying full-time for her Diploma of Community Services, Eunice is on placement at the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and plans to continue on to a Bachelor of Social Work. “My end goal is to gain employment for now, and then do the bachelor,” she says. “People ask why I keep going, and I just tell them, I’d rather be old with a degree than be old with nothing.”
Her journey hasn’t been easy, especially as a mum and student. “There are days where it’s really tough,” she says. “I just want to lock myself in a room and hide and go, ‘why am I doing this?’ But then I look at my daughter, and she gives me the motivation to keep going.”
When Eunice started studying, she didn’t know about the Ngarara Willim Centre. “They reached out to me,” she says. “At first, I thought I didn’t really need anything. But then I went to orientation, met them, and thought, ‘these guys are great’. After that I was in there almost every day.”
The Centre helped Eunice find her feet and build connections. “They host a free lunch for mob every Wednesday,” she says. “That’s where I met other students and made friends. They’ve helped me apply for scholarships, checked in on me, and made sure I was okay. Without their support, I don’t know where I’d be. There were times I felt like giving up, but I’d pick up the phone, call them, and they’d say, ‘do you want to talk about it?’ Thank God for them.”
Eunice has received several scholarships through Ngarara Willim, including student success and access grants. “They’ve helped me with everything,” she says. “Stationery, fuel to get to role plays, even daycare fees for my daughter. It all adds up after a while. They’ve helped with my phone and internet bills too, because I need them for study. Every bit has kept me moving in the right direction.”
She laughs when she remembers the first thing she bought with her scholarship money. “I went to uni and thought, ‘I need a coffee’. The first thing I bought was a nice cappuccino as a treat. It was so good, because it kept me going that day.”
Eunice says scholarships and support from Ngarara Willim make it possible for students like her to succeed. "Being a student is hard enough,” she says.
There are people who work while they study, and that’s amazing. But I’m a mum and not working right now, and everything adds up. The scholarships help so much with everyday expenses. They’re like the oil in the cog that keeps everything turning. They keep things going, so I can keep up with everyone else.
Eugenie at a family event with her daughter Emily.
When she completes the Diploma of Community Services in 2026, Eunice is guaranteed a pathway to the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours). When she graduates, she wants to work in child protection and domestic violence.
When asked what she’d say to the donors who make these scholarships possible, Eunice doesn’t hesitate. “Thank God for scholarships and thank God for the people who donate,” she says. “If it wasn’t for them, Lord knows where we’d be. It’s a really good opportunity that helps people like me get ahead. It means I can study, care for my daughter, and still chase my dreams. I’m so grateful.”
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