Yvonne recalls starting out as a medical student and the challenges she had to overcome. Five years ago, she didn’t speak English, the main teaching medium at university. “Other medical students thought I was stupid,” she recalls. But thanks to UYDF mentoring rural students throughout their studies, she earned her five-year medical degree in the minimum time and returned home to work at Mosvold Hospital. The 26-year-old aims to specialise in psychiatry.
"Rural youth are poorly equipped for university in both an academic and social sense," says Dr Ross. "So, all new students are allocated a mentor who they have to meet with once a month for academic and social support," says Dr Ross.