Ms Celeste Holm

In November 2018 Celeste Holm was a School of Nursing & Midwifery student about to graduate after three fulfilling years at The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus.

Generous and compassionate, past scholarship recipient and a natural philanthropist, Celeste realised that she would soon be in a position to support other students in financial need, and decided to establish The Holm Family Scholarship in Nursing. “I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship from Southern Cross Care during my first year of university and it was extremely helpful”, Celeste says. “Having someone value me and believe in my ability enough to support my studies had an enormously positive impact on me personally and professionally. “

The purpose of The Holm Family Scholarship in Nursing is to assist and encourage meritorious second year nursing students – based on her personal experience, Celeste felt that it was halfway through their degree that fellow students struggled to balance their studies with their financial and practicum commitments, and right at that point a scholarship would have been a most welcome relief.

In Celeste’s words “I remember the second year being the toughest academically – and I think any nursing student in semester 3 and 4 would agree! – as well as with longer practicums, and consequently less time for paid employment, which in turn can lead to financial stressors for students who support themselves.”

Celeste was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1989. She lived there until she was 12, when she moved to the United Kingdom for 2 years, before settling in Australia. Her background was in early childhood education, until she decided to go back to university and complete a Bachelor of Nursing at Notre Dame in 2018, followed by a child and adolescent health specialisation at Curtin University in 2019.

She currently works for the Department of Health in Western Australia, specialising in Child and Adolescent Community Health services.

I am very happily fulfilled in my current position. I work with children and their families in the community setting. It is very rewarding and I get immense satisfaction and sense of achievement from supporting children and their families to thrive and reach their full potential.

Her role has provided the perfect way to combine Celeste’s two passions of education and nursing.

Prior to completing her nursing degree, she spent time overseas teaching and volunteering in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Tanzania and Morocco. One day she would love to do some volunteering overseas with her nursing qualification. In her spare time Celeste loves reading, outdoors activities and film photography, as well as being with friends and family.

If Celeste were to give advice to scholarship recipients, it would be to “Get plenty of rest and drink lots of water. Always have a piece of fruit in your bag and don’t be scared to ask for help from your peers and lecturers. I think it’s also important to give help where you can. If you have a topic or class you are good at, share your knowledge with others!”