Simone Stewart-Noble's path to medicine has been anything but conventional. The first person in her family to finish high school and graduate from university, she built a career across nursing, midwifery, health management and government before returning to an ambition she'd carried since high school: becoming a doctor.

Now studying at the University of Sydney's School of Rural Health in Dubbo, Simone shares the experiences that brought her back to direct patient care and eventually gave her the confidence to apply for medicine. She speaks candidly about studying with a growing family, overcoming setbacks and imposter syndrome, reconnecting with her Aboriginal roots in western New South Wales, and the importance of representation. Her message is a lesson she’s lived - don't assume there's only one path into medicine - and don't rule yourself out before you've even tried.