“It was satisfying when I was able to assist her do even little things – like clench her fist. It was great to watch her progress in the time I was there,” she said. It was then Emma decided she would dedicate her life to helping people. 

Her wish has been granted, Just months after graduating from Charles Sturt University in Orange, she has landed her dream job of a fully fledged physiotherapist at Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle. 

Miss Groat, now aged 22, has never done things the easy way. 

During her HSC trials at Wade High, her family farm in Myall Park was flooded, with helicopters needed to drop feed to cattle. 

And when she had to choose university work experience placements, she didn’t opt for the well-resourced big city hospitals. 

“I volunteered in remote Vietnam at an orphanage for the severely disabled  – no resources and most kids were unable to even sit, let alone walk. I was part of a program that taught the kids to sit.

“Seeing smiles on the kids faces were just so motivating. It’s more satisfying when you go somewhere and help people who have next to nothing.”

Miss Groat has also worked with remote Indigenous communities and travelled around sub-Sahara Africa, but for now she’s content to make a difference in the lives of her patients in the large oncology hospital in Newcastle.