Meet Stina Constantine
Stina share’s her story of having been born in Norway, to Sri Lankan parents and raised in Australia. She has been a significant contributor to her Wagga Wagga community for over 20 years and has two skill sets that are a shortage in Australia… Yet strangely, trying to make Australia her permanent home has been near impossible.
Stina completed all of her high school, Bachelor of Psychology and Master of Social Work in Australia. She has worked with Separated Families and their Children, and with High Conflict families for over 10years, and with Families and Children facing Life threatening illnesses for 3 years. She's currently employed as a Children's Contact Worker at Relationships Australia, Family & Relationship Practitioner/Counsellor at CentaCare, an Education Support Officer at TAFE, and founded a Christian Ministry. In recent years she was named a City Ambassador, representing Wagga Wagga regionally and overseas.
Despite all of this, she was forced to face many bizarre immigration twists and turns. Stina had to leave the country to apply for a visa, was told to complete an English language test, not once, not twice but three times despite being proficient in English and having completed all of her formative education in Australia. She was then faced with an unjustified deportation due to an administrative error out of her control, forcing her to legally fight this costly battle at the Federal Circuit and seek Ministerial Intervention. Her impact is evident by the community's uproar with over 13,000 petition signatures, over $17,000 raised for her legal fight in a matter of days, and the overwhelming emotional support she received throughout the ordeal.
Stina now shares her story with a variety of organisations, agencies and groups to:
1. Bring light to the unnecessarily complicated and convoluted process of Migrating to Australia, including setting straight the misunderstandings in the community about eligibility, expectations and the process. She firmly believes a more informed community can create a smoother and fairer path for newcomers, ensuring no one else has their lives turned upside down, which begins with conversations.
2. Share lessons of;
- Leaning into hope that bears the fruit of resilience in the face of what seems like a lost cause, and become empowered with agency to make change
- Choosing gratitude in the face of relentless upheaval and bureaucracy.
Stina chooses to speak in an uplifting, encouraging manner, that instills hope and strength in the community, encouraging those with power and agency to collectively begin to understand and work towards changing the system that is in place, and shift our perspective on heightened situations.
Having been overwhelmed by love, and at the suggestion of many people who have continued to ask Stina to share her story, she has now made herself available for speaking engagements in person and virtually.
Make contact below to discuss your event.
'What does being Australian mean to you?'
This was the theme Miss Wagga Wagga 2019, Stina Constantine, was asked to make an address on for the Australia Day Awards Ceremony on 25th January 2019. This speech touched many people's hearts, and then instigated a wave of support, and love from far and wide for Stina's story.
