AUNTY Denise Emmerson has held several roles supporting students at the University of Newcastle over 25 years with the institution, but she said they all boiled down to some core responsibilities.
"It's about being there for them and taking care of them," Aunty Denise said. "Lots of them have come from off country and it's a bit scary for them all. I was just there to help them find a way to get their mind around it, being away from home, and just try to ease it a bit for them. Some of them I think I did."
The rewards, she said, have been innumerable.
"I've loved watching them grow and getting more confidence than what they had and seeing on their faces they know they can do it," she said. "I'm very proud of them all."
Aunty Denise - a Wakka Wakka and Gia woman - marked her last day with UON on Thursday. She volunteered for UON's Early Retirement Scheme and plans to leave the Hunter this month to move to Queensland, to stay with family at Millmerran before returning to where she grew up, around Hervey Bay.
"I enjoyed every minute of it, I would never change it," Aunty Denise said of her time at UON. "It was my path - but I think my path is on the way home now."
COVID-19 restrictions meant Aunty Denise's colleagues turned their original plans for her farewell into a morning tea over Zoom on Friday.
"I don't think I've got regrets, but I'll miss all this lot here," she said. "I was crying with them all."
Aunty Denise joined UON as a project manager for the student games committee and helped establish the Indigenous Nationals Games.
The 25th games were held last week in Newcastle. She worked as a receptionist for the Aboriginal medical unit and the Wollotuka Institute and has spent the past 18 months as a student mentor.
"I helped them out wherever I needed to and was an ear to listen to what was happening with them," she said. "I'd ask, but you could see it in their faces before that."
Wollotuka Institute performance, policy and operations manager Shane James said Aunty Denise was a humble woman who reminded people of their mothers or grandmothers and cared for them as such. He said she kept staff and students grounded and connected to their culture and community and provided guidance.
"She's the most supportive and loving person you could ever meet, she's all about community and supporting the young ones," he said. "There was a NAIDOC theme 'Because of her we can' - well because of her, we could. It's like we're losing a part of our family, we all feel that way - the loss is immeasurable for us. It's like losing a piece of ourselves."
Aunty Denise said this year's NAIDOC Week theme, Heal Country, was a call to action.
"The rivers are no more, trees are gone, it's just shocking - we need to get back to basics and start looking after the land, each other and try and work together."
