Dare to Dream. Dare to be Different.
From the Head of Griffith House
On Tuesday night, Year 12 girls, parents and teachers had the pleasure of being entertained by Brisbane Girls Grammar School old girl, Dr Jo Darby (Alumna 1996) who was guest speaker at the Valedictory Dinner, 2010. It only took me a moment to realise that I had taught her English in Year 9 in 1993. I recognised the dry, sometimes quirky, sense of humour that was evident even as a 14-year-old student.
What a captivating speech! What an amazing woman! What an extraordinary life Dr Darby has lead in the fourteen years since leaving the School! Dr Darby completed a Science degree followed by a post graduate medical degree. She then won a scholarship to undertake a research project at Cambridge University in her final year of medicine. As well as embarking on GP training, she studied Aviation and Underwater Medicine in the RAAF. She is currently in the process of completing two Masters Degrees and is about to be deployed to Afghanistan. This is the woman who asked herself, “Why me?” when she was invited to deliver the 2010 Valedictory Dinner address. She described herself as, “An average student at Brisbane Girls Grammar School who, on occasions, was renowned for being ‘the joker’, much to the dismay of the teachers.” This is the woman who was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross and the CJOPS Gold Commendation this year.
The citation for the Conspicuous Service Cross awarded to Flight Lieutenant Joleen Kim Darby, Northern Territory is stated as being:
For outstanding achievement in the application of exceptional skills as the medical officer on HMAS Childers on Thursday, 16 April 2009.
“Flight Lieutenant Darby’s actions were fundamental to the successful treatment of 44 injured personnel, including the survival of 27 critical and very seriously injured patients, following an explosion on a suspected irregular entry vessel near Ashmore Reef. Her compassion, professionalism, outstanding leadership and exceptional skills in coordinating triage, administering medical treatment, advising others how to address medical concerns, and monitoring the casualties for 12 hours in the most basic conditions ensured their pain and suffering were minimised. The injured personnel were delivered to expert medical care in the best possible condition, and they survived their trauma”.
“Her presence and actions were central to the saving of the lives of those who were rescued from the water with horrific injuries,” said Jo’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Brett Westcott.”
“The hardest thing for me was – having just witnessed an horrific explosion – to then have to start triaging and treating patients, in a less than ideal environment,” Jo said. “I’ve seen trauma in an emergency department, but nothing like this scale and it was just me on the back of a small navy boat.”
Recalling Dr Darby’s speech the next day, I contemplated the words of advice she had given the Year 12 girls at the dinner the previous night. She challenged them to, “Dare to be different” and emphasised the importance of five core values: life-long learning, perseverance, courage, camaraderie and respect. She added, “Upon reflection, I have realised just how fortunate I was to attend such a School as Brisbane Girls Grammar, where it was assumed that every girl had the potential to achieve. There were no limitations to what girls could achieve and an overarching sense of developing self-belief.”
Her words echoed the comments made by a class of Year 12 students with whom I had had a discussion the previous week. They talked about the self-belief and independence they had developed during the five years and the confidence they felt in moving on to university, knowing they had been so well prepared at Girls Grammar. The girls identified education as being the key to an independent future and said they now fully understood the importance and relevance of the feminist ideology of having the freedom to make a choice about their future. Many of the group described themselves as “average” students but emphasised the depth of reassurance they felt about the support of their friends, the School, its teachers and the Old Girls network if they ever needed help and advice whilst at university or in the workplace. Most interestingly, they said they also felt reassured by the act of passing the leadership of the School to the current Year 11 cohort in readiness for 2011. They described this process as making them feel empowered in their life journey, knowing that they had acquitted themselves responsibly and admirably as a part of Brisbane Girls Grammar School history. One girl stated, “It’s not until you reach Year 12 that you appreciate the opportunities you’ve been given and how privileged you are to have been at Brisbane Girls Grammar School.”
The words of these Year 12 students are mirrored in Dr Jo Darby’s final comment to the Year 12, 2010 cohort. “Through my work as a doctor and my time in defence I have travelled around Australia and the world and visited many places where education for women is a luxury. You all have been given the gift of an education that encompasses more than just the standard Queensland curriculum. What distinguishes Girls Grammar is the way it helps foster your core beliefs and values which will see you progress into the next stage of your life with the tools to help you succeed and achieve your dreams.”
Best wishes, Year 12, 2010! We’re very proud of you.
Ms J O’Sullivan
http://www.defence.gov.au/siev36/raaf.htm
http://www.defence.gov.au/siev36/personnel/people/darby/darby.htm