Taking a leap with Evie into a profound career: midwifery

First published by University of the Sunshine Coast

Tom Snowdon

It started with sport – because that’s what Evie Bosker had grown up doing.  

But it soon started taking on a feminist perspective. She became interested in how women trained – specifically how the menstrual cycle impacted sport-and-exercise performance. 

It was while looking more deeply into this historically under-researched area that Evie started thinking about women-in-health more generally.

What she liked about midwifery is that women were the sole focus. In a profession that has historically centred men, it felt refreshing. It felt right.  

“I just thought it was the most profound career you could do in your life,” she says.

 “Then I talked to quite a few midwives – and they all just loved it.” 

What stands out most for Evie about studying Midwifery is the community. While it can be an incredibly rewarding degree, it can also be emotionally taxing.

“I think because it can a tough career, our lecturers really emphasize that we need connections in our midwifery group,” Evie says.

“My cohort is a really close-knit group. I feel a real connection to all of them, which I didn’t really expect.

“I've had classes where we all sat down in a group and cried together.”

Midwifery lecturer Jessie Johnson-Cash says the students walk alongside women through some of the most profound and at-times vulnerable moments of their lives.

“Supporting women and families during such a significant life experience is an incredible honour, but is not without its challenges,” she says.

“Working in the field can be emotionally demanding, which is why we put a lot of emphasis on our students feeling supported too, with strong peer connections and spaces where they can share, debrief and care for each other – such as the Student Midwife Support Circles that we offer.”

Midwifery students get some unique and privileged insights into people’s lives during their degree, partnering with pregnant women through antenatal appointment, their labour, birth and postnatal care.

“It does feel like you get a special insight into this part of their life,” Evie says.

However, it is a demanding degree and students put in a lot of work to reach this point.

For starters, there are limited places in the degree so entry is competitive – you either need a high ATAR or have completed or started studying another degree or qualification or have relevant work experience.

For Evie, she’s always been driven and competitive so she pushed herself to excel in high school – in the classroom and the sports field.

She’s competed across sporting genres but has set her sights on high jump more recently, getting selected to represent Australia at the 2025 Oceania Cup in Tonga.

The intense training schedule, coupled with time-intensive study and prac placements, leave little down time for Evie.

She says being part of UniSC’s High Performance Student Athlete team has helped her when it comes to juggling responsibilities. 

“I get free gym membership so I use that all the time,” Evie says.

“But the support is great too – I’ve got my own personal trainer, who’s developed a really useful program for me; and the HPSA team have been really supportive with my learning – just in the way I can ask for help requesting extensions on assignments or exams if I have competitions on at the same time.”

But for Evie, when it comes to support, it’s clear where her own priorities lay.

“I’ve been to five births now, and I’ve cried at every single one,” she says.

“It’s just so beautiful. The women I’ve partnered with have all been so happy, and there’s just this incredible sense of joy in the room.”

That joy continues in the postnatal ward, where she says the atmosphere is contagious.

“Everyone comes in and sees the baby and it’s wonderful to share in that sense of excitement.

“It feels like such a privilege to be part of these really profound moments in their lives.”