SOME people are destined to shine and Meagan Chivers, youth mental health worker with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, is one of those people. Based at the Campbell Town and Longford Community Health Centre but covering the entire municipality with a vital and free outreach service, the former factory worker has found her calling and says she still pinches herself that she is in her dream job.
Meagan was nominated for the national Weekly Times Shine Awards and was featured in their major publication as one of three finalists from 120 entries in the Belief category. Shine is a recognition program for awarding individuals, and teams who deliver outstanding achievements, going above and beyond to their community. Exuding confidence, a contagious smile and a down-to-earth nature that everyone seems to connect with, Meagan’s journey to find her place in the world is not what most would expect.
The daughter of a family of battlers from Bothwell, she was always “that horsey kid”, helping her dad with his trotters, rounding up cattle and trail riding all around the district. To fund her equestrian pursuits, she decided to get a short-term job after finishing college at the local, iconic Blundstone Boot factory. Eight years later she was still there, first gluing soles on shoes and then later on shiftwork operating the moulding machine.
“I’m not sure if it was because I was from the country and a bit shy or the stigma around being a factory worker that held me back, but when the factory was earmarked for closure I tried to get another job, and had 176 rejection letters – I went for every job out there and was getting nowhere,” she said. “It did have its benefits though; I met some life-long friends, and saved up a deposit and brought my first house when I was 22!”
When the factory was earmarked for closure a neighbour eventually put her onto a truck driver role, which involved collecting sanitary bins and cleaning urinals, which she did for four years. After completing a TAFE course in business administration Meagan secured a job with Bennetts Petroleum at Claremont and later Mood Food at Kempton. “While doing that I started a diploma in community services, saved up a deposit for a house and I eventually bought a small 12ha farm at Mount Seymour where I have 12 merinos and my horses,” she said. “As part of my practical course requirements I had to practice writing job applications. From that I was employed at Relationships Australia on the front desk in admin and later on as a support coordinator.
The councillors encouraged me to go to university and get a counselling degree adn were a great support. “I think they saw something in me that at that point I still couldn’t.” So at age 34 as a mature-aged student Meagan went back to school through The Australian College of Applied Psychology, completing fulltime online studies at night while working fulltime during the day. “I honestly thought at one point I’d be a bootologist for ever,” she laughed.
With the help of Oatlands farmer and rodeo stalwart Karen Fish, Meagan also stepped up her interest in barrel racing – something she’d “dabbled” in most of her life. Having being out of the saddle for quite a few years, when she bought her horse Denny five years ago, she said she was so lacking in confidence she would cry every time she put her foot in the stirrups. This journey has really shaped who I am as a person today, my self-belief and confidence has grown so much. I love my horses and the amazing people that have supported me along the way.”
Now she’s flying around the barrels, mainly in the local section but this season she’s having a crack at the open and the breakaway roping and she’ll also be contesting the Tasmanian Mountain Cattlemen’s Championship event at its annual get together at Westbury in January.
Meagan started working with the RFDS three years ago, first in the Break ‘O Day and Glamorgan Spring Bay municipalities, before being positioned closer to home one or two days a fortnight.
However an influx of referrals since the start of the pandemic and identifying a need in Northern Midlands schools now has her busy full time. Like all RFDS services it’s about breaking down the barriers of cost and distance – which means Meagan goes directly to those who need support rather then expecting them to come to her.
“Whether it’s my office, or meeting at the park, I take a flexible approach and because I’m from a rural area I know the seriousness and the need for this kind of professional help,” she said. “I am a completely different person these days, still a bit of an introvert on the inside, but I have the lived experience of hardship and anxiety, I know country people can see bullshit coming a mile away, and I know I have to connect through trust,” she said. “I can relate to young people who say they get anxious in a social group or they feel like nothing can change – and hopefully seeing other country people chasing dreams, and doing meaningful things, even later in life can inspire them that things can be different, better.
“I still feel inadequate at times, I’m rough around the edges and I don’t speak eloquently, but what I see as a deficit in myself is what makes people in my counselling rooms feel like they’re in a safe space and that’s what matters to me.
“I am given the privilege and the chance to actively change someone’s life – and that’s pretty bloody special.”