I aspire to work at the World Health Organization! I know it's almost impossible, but I'm really dedicated to working towards this. If things fall through, I'd like to be an Environmental Health Officer or a Health Promotion Officer.
Hello!Hello! Nice to see another person who loves creative writing! I didn't do Lit myself; instead, I just revelled in the single solitary creative SAC we had in VCE English. :D Anyway, nice to see a new journal.
My name is ashley, preferably ash. I'm currently in year 9 (class of 2023), but I guess you could consider me a year 10 now, as my school holidays have just started. I've been stalking all of the forums on AN for about a year now :)
A bit about me:
I have a passion for creative writing. I had originally planned on doing VCE Lit, but was advised against it sadly, as my writing might not be 'mature' enough :(( I also have a love for health, hence choosing HHD. I absolutely love all things crime. I've been binge watching all seasons of CSI and Law and Order. My goal for next year is to participate in The UN Youth Voice Competition and The Evatt Competition.
My subjects for year 10 include:
+ Advanced English
+ Advanced Maths
+ Forensic Science
+ Chemistry
+ Environmental Science
+ Health and Human Development (U1 & 2)
This year was an absolute FLOP for me. I didn't get the opportunity to learn at my full potential, and I did the bare minimum work. So, my plan for next year is to achieve the best grades I can, whilst maintaining a healthy life/work balance.
Biology was by far my favourite topic this year, and luckily for me, my school combined my two favourite things forensics and biology. Forensic Science is, by far, the subject I'm looking forward to most! I'm not the biggest fan of chemistry. I realised how dry it was this year, but apparently I'm pretty good at it. I only chose Chemistry because Philosophy was full. I'm not so sure about Environmental Science. Not too sure what it's about, but my teacher really sold it to me! I'm incredibly nervous about Maths next year, as I didn't do too well this year. I've always found it a bit difficult to grasp the concepts in maths, but somehow I've managed to sneak my way into Advanced Maths.
My plans for VCE are (and study score goals):
Year 10: Health and Human Development 1/2
Year 11: Health and Human Development 3/4 [48], Literature 1/2, Global Politics 1/2, Legal Studies 1/2, Methods 1/2, Physics 1/2
Year 12: Global Politics 3/4 [37], Literature 3/4 [41] , Legal Studies 3/4 [39], Methods 3/4 [36], Physics 3/4 [39]
Dream Courses:
+ Bachelor of Science/Arts (Public Health & International Relations majors) @ University of Queensland
+ Bachelor of Applied Public Health/Global Studies @ ACU
I aspire to work at the World Health Organization! I know it's almost impossible, but I'm really dedicated to working towards this. If things fall through, I'd like to be an Environmental Health Officer or a Health Promotion Officer. I'd also love to be a nurse. I love the thought of helping people directly, but I also would like to study global politics. I don't think there are any nursing/global studies degrees out there. Mum's probably not gonna be happy to hear this, as she wants me to be a doctor D:
End note: I'm still a bit nervous about starting a journal. Over time, I think I'll be able to relax a bit and not be so boring lmao, Thank you so much for reading!
Hi Ash. Nice to see another journal around!
I’m also a bit of a crime and forensic science buff. (Similar to you, I did a forensic science subject in Year 9, while I voraciously read crime novels and watched forensic science shows. It was one of the reasons why I chose a genetics degree in uni, actually.) Have you ever considered becoming a lawyer, just out of curiosity?
Given your aspirations, I’d also research the course structures of nursing courses. If there’s electives in your potential nursing degree, you might be able to slot in a few global politics-type subjects in there (although usually it would come under a slightly different title like Politics or International Relations). This way, you might be able to get the best of both worlds and have a lot more options available to you.
Hey Ash,
While I do understand that the World Health Organization application process may be a bit strenuous, I definitely don't think that it would be "impossible" for you at all! As long as you dedicate yourself to your studies and receive your best possible outcome whilst looking after yourself and others, then you're already one step ahead of your aspiration. If you are committed to this aspiration of working for the World Health Organization, then I would recommend researching as much as possible! Especially these in particular:
- The requirements for the roles that you have listed (Environmental Health Officer & Health Promotion Officer). Some job roles have specific requirements such as previous subjects studied or average grades in required subjects. But please do research this more as I don't know much about the World Health Organization or their requirements.
- How the World Health Organization application process works. From what I can tell, the application process does seem to be a bit strenuous as according to their website, the process takes "several months" and involves "a number of steps" such as screening, written test, interview, and assessment centre.
- Consider where you would like to work for the World Health Organization. From what I can tell by looking at the job description for the Public Health Officer (the closest job vacancy I could find to your preferences), some of the WHO job vacancies are National positions which means that only applicants of the country where the duty station is located will be accepted. Applicants who are not nationals of this country will not be considered.
Hopefully, this insight helps you a little bit but here are a few more tips and tricks that I would recommend for you to do to build an effective foundation of your aspiration:
- Connect with current/former World Health Organization employees. I know this may seem like a bit of a hassle and can seem a teeny tiny bit terrifying but I think that reaching out to people who have experienced your aspiration could be really worthwhile! Depending on how friendly they are, they could help outline the application process in a little bit more detail, describe their experiences applying for positions and being employed at WHO. Try Linkedin.
- Scour the World Health Organization website (+ if necessary, the internet) for more information. If the first option doesn't work out for you, then I would definitely recommend looking at the World Health Organization website as well! The best and most accurate information about the application process + the job positions would come from the World Health Organization itself so I think that would be a great place to start!
- Similar to the point above, you could also research their internship opportunities. One of the best stepping stones for any type of a career would definitely be work experience, work placement or an internship. By applying for a World Health Organization internship during your undergraduate degree, you could gain insight into the WHO experience and you may have the opportunity to ask any of your burning questions! However, please note that you have to be at least twenty years of age to apply for a WHO internship.
Here are also some links that you might find useful (I have attached some documents as well):
- World Health Organization Website: https://www.who.int/
- World Health Organization Application Process: https://www.who.int/careers/process/en/
- Sample Job Description (Public Health Officer): https://careers.who.int/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=2004373&tz=GMT%2B10%3A00&tzname=Australia%2FBrisbane
- WHO Internship Program: https://www.who.int/careers/internships/en/
- Getting A Job At the World Health Organization (Global Health with Greg Martin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYTW3eqtdr4
Hopefully, that helps! Please let me know if you have any questions, queries or concerns :)
Have a great week and kind regards,
Darcy Dillon.
Hi! I can completely relate to being the only year 10 in a class full of year 11s because that was me for a few of my classes last year. I was actually trembling on my first day because they all seemed so intimidating haha. I would suggest that you sit next to the “nicer” looking ones or ones that don’t sit in a big group of friends. It’s easier to become friendly with at least a few of them that way.
And wow! I started on a bullet journal over the holidays too and it’s pretty fun. Are you using yours as more of an organisational tool or creative outlet?
Have fun in year 10 and be sure to make the most out of it!