Abigail Rowe

My name is Abigail Rowe. I’m currently a biomedical student at La Trobe University, Bendigo. Next year, I will commence my Doctor of Medicine (MD) at the University of Melbourne, Shepparton.

My family had a strong influence on me growing up. This drove me to become heavily involved with my community by volunteering, taking up leadership roles at school, playing community sport at the local netball club and patrolling the river at the inland lifesaving club.

The first-hand experience of saving people’s lives and working alongside others in a team at the local lifesaving club made me explore my interests in medicine because in many ways it was very similar.

My main drive to study medicine regionally is to give back to the community that raised me. Learning in a rural setting enticed me as it closely mirrored my goal of wanting to address the paucity of GPs in rural towns. It's the real inconvenience and disruptions that my family and community members have suffered that made me want to follow this path.

The impetus to pursue medical education in Shepparton was also supported by research showing that being in a smaller class would build me into a high-performing graduate, ready to tackle practical rural health issues.

My ultimate goal is to return to Mildura and establish a career there one day.