MELBOURNE has partnered with the Koorie Academy of Excellence (KAE), in an association that sees Neville Jetta take on a mentoring role in the Indigenous community.
The partnership, which will expand the defender’s community involvement even further throughout 2019, will see Neville work with the KAE to provide guidance for Indigenous school children.
Neville, who is highly-regarded for his community work, said it was an initiative he was proud for both himself and Melbourne to be part of.
“In the early 80s, there were only two Indigenous children graduating from Year 12 in the whole of Victoria,” Neville told Melbourne Media.
“Through the work of the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated (VAEAI), they had over 500 Indigenous children complete their Year 12 studies last year, so to have something like the KAE and for us to be a part of it – it’s pretty exciting.”
In conjunction with the VAEAI, the KAE provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with education support and cultural guidance throughout their senior schooling years.
Seven children successfully graduated from the Academy at the KAE End of Year Ceremony last week, with Neville having the honour of presenting an award to the student deemed most resilient and leadership-driven.
“It was a good start to our partnership, as it is an award that probably sums up my career,” Neville said.
“To be able to give an award to someone who has displayed those traits, to not only get through what they were going through but also complete year 12 – I was pretty proud.”
“As Indigenous people, we’re probably a bit behind the eight-ball compared to non-Indigenous people – it’s almost like a running race, starting 20m behind and trying to win that race.
“There are setbacks along the way, but to be able to have those traits, it really allows you to not only pursue your goal but achieve it.”
Alongside the acknowledgement, recipient Maddison Burridge will also benefit from Neville’s mentoring throughout 2019.
And with a strong interest in AFL, Neville can’t wait to get started.
“She’s a pretty keen footballer, so that’s great to have that connection through the club,” he said.
“My focus will be trying to help her with the direction she wants to go in and just be someone else that she can have a chat with going forward.”
Melbourne’s Indigenous Project Officer Matthew Whelan reinforced the importance of the new partnership, confident of its influence throughout the club and the community.
“With the varied roles that are in football clubs, it allows us to hopefully provide employment opportunities, as well as work placements and traineeships,” he told Melbourne Media.
“For us, it’s about supporting men, women and their families, as they come to our organisation to live out their dream of becoming elite footballers.
“For the KAE, the focus is to support the young person and their families in cultural and main line education throughout their senior schooling years.
“Neville Jetta’s involvement in the program, along with our other Indigenous players, is going to be huge, and we’re really looking forward to the future.”
