Making a difference: Meepla ngargee moondani mirrup; I embrace place of spirit

"Meepla ngargee moondani mirrup (I embrace place of spirit)," says Linc Yow Yeh.

Linc Yow Yeh, appointed Indigenous Coordinator of Jim-Baa-Yer in March 2015, is a proud Aboriginal South Sea Islander Murri man from Queensland and of Goreng Goreng/Gunja heritage, where his great grandmothers’ traditional countries are situated.

Goreng Goreng country is located in Bundaberg just south of Rockhampton, Central Queensland, and Gunja country, Cunnamulla, south-west Queensland.

He was born and raised in Jagera/Turrabul country, Brisbane, and graduated in the early 90s as a Physical Education/English teacher at Queensland University of Technology.

Linc immediately began teaching in Brisbane then moved, taught and lived in Cape York Kuuku Ya’u country, some 800km north of Cairns, in an Aboriginal community known as Lockhart River, from 1993 to 1998.

This is where Linc delved into teaching Adult Community Education, notably the Remote Area Teaching Education Program (RATEP), delivering teacher education to Indigenous community members to equip them with teaching, educational qualifications and tools for them to teach in their own home communities.

From 1999 he spent the next 16 years working and living in Wurundjeri country, Melbourne and recently transitioned from the Vocational Education and Training sector known as VET, in which he managed the Gunung Willam Balluk Indigenous Education Centre of Kangan Institute for 6 years, before crossing over into higher education and ACU.

Linc has found all these experiences to be of great merit and satisfaction, as well as the ability to transfer skills, knowledge and experience to his current role at ACU.

“It allows me to use my past experiences in ACU’s context, in the hope they benefit students and staff,” he said.

“My education background is of great use in this environment and because I’m immersed in education, I’m learning everyday as well, from both students and staff.

“The time to move into higher education was right, after spending some 16 years in VET. That environment was changing for all the wrong reasons and I also felt the need to work with and learn from Indigenous students with different study and career aspirations.

“ACU and First Peoples in particular immerses me in the necessary environment to influence and evoke change for our mob and I’m thoroughly enjoying the opportunities ACU is providing me.”