Dannielle Ghezzi’s Story

Dannielle Ghezzi participated in ASSETS 2008. In 2011 she became the Inaugural ASSETS Ambassador.

“The difference between the possible and impossible lies within a person’s determination.”

I come from a strong Indigenous background and family is everything to me.

I grew up in Mount Gambier and it was during my attendance at Mt Gambier High School in 2008, that I was privileged to be part of the ASSETS program before starting Year 12.

The program provided me with the opportunity to experience different aspects of science and technology, which included robotics, human physiology, environmental biology and forensic science, which was an area that interested me the most.

The experience made me realise that I had a passion for science.

I made many friends whilst participating in the ASSETS program, who I continue to keep in contact with today.

After completing the ASSETS program, I had a fresh outlook ready for my year 12 studies.

A few weeks in to my year 12 year, I found out I was pregnant. My partner and I had a little early surprise, but a very welcomed one. I decided to finish year 12, and at the end of September, I  gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl.  I finished my SACE and achieved a TER of 86.95. However, I decided to do some further Year 12 subjects, and increased my score to 92.25. With this score, I applied for the University of South Australia’s first Bachelor of Medical Science, and I was accepted!

In 2012 I will graduate to become a medical scientist and my further aspirations are to become a researcher in biotechnology and push for more research and application into Indigenous Health.

My passion still lies in becoming a forensic scientist because of my experience in the ASSETS program. I grew up knowing my heritage, but only today can I now appreciate how amazing it is to be part of one of the oldest cultures in the world, and I have ASSETS to thank for this.