Shannyn balances disability, family and dual jobs to win big
By Greg Chapman
No one is more deserving of a Queensland Training Award than Shannyn Bonerath.
Her defiance against the odds, struggling daily with multiple health conditions, working two jobs and raising two young sons alone - all while studying beauty therapy at CQUniversity – saw her named Equity Student of the Year at the recent Central Queensland Regional Awards.
And to think it was only a few years before that she underwent lifesaving surgery.
Shannyn was presented with her award at a ceremony at the Rockhampton Leagues Club - much to her own personal shock.
“I am extremely shocked, but incredibly honoured to have won. My son made me write a speech at 10:30pm the night before as I was sure I wasn’t going to win but he felt otherwise. I’m glad he had faith as I needed that speech after all.”
The recognition solidified the challenges she faced while studying a Diploma of Beauty Therapy at CQU’s Rockhampton City campus.
“I had lifesaving surgery in 2021 and decided I wanted to pursue something I was passionate about,” she said.
“Beauty isn’t just superficial - it brings a confidence from the inside out. It helps people like me have more self-esteem.
“I had horrific face infections that left me with scarring and when I have beauty treatments to help heal those issues I feel more like myself again. I wanted to help people feel that way.
“A beauty journey is like a health journey, and I love the idea of seeing that person glow and feel self-confidence again.”
Shannyn’s regimen included attending class on Mondays and Tuesday, working overnight shifts as a disability support worker on those nights and then working 9am-5pm at Regional Health & Mobility on Thursdays and Fridays.
“Finding the time to study, be a Mum and run a household was a huge challenge. Then I had my health challenges on top of that: I had Crohn’s Disease and a permanent ileostomy when I started at CQU and I was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia during my time there,” she said.
“It wasn’t an easy journey and sometimes I felt like I wasn’t going to get to the finish line, but with determination and self-reminders that everything is temporary, especially the bad days, persistence paid off.
“My children believed in me and that was my biggest encouragement to complete my studies and show them hard work pays off.”
CQU’s social workers also helped Shannyn, assisting her with applications for disability help and obtaining sponsorship to help her financially.
“Every staff member, including my teacher were always supportive and understanding. If it wasn’t for the wonderful staff at CQU I wouldn’t have known about all the help that was readily available for students and my journey would have been a lot harder,” she said.
While Shannyn still works two jobs, she is now full-time at Regional Health & Mobility and her second job is much more aligned with her passion.
“I’ve secured a part-time job at SILK laser clinic, which is in the beauty industry, and I am super excited to start putting my Diploma skills to use. I hope that in time my role at SILK will become my full-time position,” she said.
“I want to get to a point financially that I can work one job and have more time with my children.”
Shannyn will now progress as a finalist in the Queensland Training Awards State Final to be held on 19 September.
CQUniversity also had three other finalists in the CQ Regional Queensland Training Awards: Teacher Leonie Keating, who was a finalist in the VET Teacher or Trainer of the Year category, Animal Care Services student Aaron Owens, who was also a finalist in the Equity Student of the Year and Laboratory Skills student Maddison Hillier, a finalist in the Vocational Student of the Year.
CQU congratulates them all on their achievements.
