Always answer when opportunity knocks

Jess looking to inspire children in care to dream big

Jess Tresidder has the world at her feet as she embarks on life after high school. A top ranked student, a university place secured, a resume that includes owning her own business and countless volunteer hours – from the outside looking in, Jess has a picture perfect life.

Firstly, everything Jess has achieved has been due to hard work and secondly, she has faced her share of challenges but has determined to make every post a winner and as she sets herself to start a double degree at the University of South Australia, the product of the foster care system is ready to rise to her next challenge.

After finishing Year 12 among Tenison Woods College’s top 2022 graduates with an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank of 97.85, receiving a Governor of SA Commendation Excellence award and participating in the UniSA Accelerate Program, the 18-yearold is about to start another chapter, moving to Adelaide to embark on that tertiary education opportunity.

Last Friday was World Care Day, the world’s biggest celebration of children who grow up in care, and it proved the perfect time for Jess to share her inspiring story in the hope it inspires other children living in care today to forge their own positive pathways in life.

The theme of the 2023 World Care Day celebrations was ‘Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover, Embrace Our Stories Instead’ and that is why Jess is sharing her story – even she admits she did not always believe in things working out when spending her formative teenage years with various foster carers in the Geelong district under supervision of the Victorian Child Protection Service.

Living as a child in state care was a significant shift from her younger years spent in Queensland, where she was raised by her mother. But Jess’ life changed when her family went through a challenging time that led to the intervention of child protection services and she was placed in kinship care with relatives.

“Because we didn’t have much family in the area, that became foster care,” Jess recalled, also sharing the stigma she faced as a child in care.

“People would take a different stance once they found out, probably because there is stigma and stereotypes.”

Jess said she was naïve about how her early experiences in her family home that became dysfunctional differed from her peers.

“I think when you grow up with it, you think not having food in the cupboard or trying to look for a job at the age of nine is normal,” she said. “When you’re a young child, you should be able to be a child and experience those things and be able to fail and try again.”

She also acknowledges living in foster care at a young age took some adjustment.

“That nurturing side (shown by foster carers) was a foreign concept to me because I hadn’t had a parent figure at the time that provided that sort of care,” she said.

“It’s strange at first but then you realise this is what I should have experienced.”

She urged people to understand children in care do not choose their background or life circumstances and highlighted the transformational change foster carers can make in the life of a child.

“As a foster carer, you have the potential to change their future,” she said. “Foster carers can really help in multiple aspects, even if that is just psychologically.

“I think providing a stable environment can completely change someone’s wellbeing – it sure did for me.”

Jess said prior to being placed in foster care, she experienced negative impacts from a period of instability, with a constant feeling of never knowing what was going to happen next.

“Foster care is being able to provide that stability and it means that foster children really have a chance to focus on the things in their life that they should as a child,” she said.

“It means they can go to school and make friends without worrying about their home life.”

The support of carers proved invaluable to Jess when she moved to Mount Gambier around three years ago and she wasted no time in maximising the opportunities that were presented.

That led to the then-16-yearold starting work as a youth art teacher, as well as taking on a hospitality job, while balancing her study and launching WildHazelDesigns, partly formed through the creation of personalised keyrings for young people in the care of the Department for Child Protection.

“I saw that I could use the opportunities and the experiences that I had faced to keep moving forward and try new things and make growth a positive in my life,” she said.

“Even if you are in care, you have the potential to create your own path, to create your own future.

“Aim for your goals, even if you think they are not possible, because you will be surprised at what you can achieve.” For Jess, one of those achievements was securing a $15,000 Business News Australia scholarship in 2021 – recognition of what she was achieving with WildHazelDesigns.

“There is almost this stigma that young people cannot start businesses, that you need experience and age in order to,” she said. “But I believe having the business in itself is the experience— and can provide many useful skills for your future.”

And the keyring design enterprise wasn’t her first foray into the business world – she also ran a social media business but COVID saw many businesses unable to continue to invest in her services.

Safe to say, she has a head for business, given how quickly she not only realised that her keyring creations could be a viable operation but how quickly she was able to upscale the enterprise.

“After making one for myself, I found friends my age were interested in them,” Jess said. “From there, I created an Etsy account simply as a joke—not thinking I’d get any orders! However, that quickly changed, with neighbours and members of the community buying them.”

In fact, it took less than a month for her business to be an Etsy bestseller as her personalised keyrings became a must-have gift item. She went from creating personalised keyrings for mother’s looking for the perfect gift to go with their child’s first car and friends buying for friends to the majority of her orders coming from the online business platform.

Her side hustle became a full time job while still juggling her studies but Jess is all about grabbing opportunities and grabbing them when they first emerge.

“Creating the keyrings, becoming a bestseller, and earning a full-time wage whilst at school was almost accidental,” Jess said. “I can definitely say my goal of making a bit of side money has been surpassed. However, I think I set goals without even thinking about it. For example, selling 10 keyrings then expanding to 100 and so on.”

Jess is taking a break from the keyring gig but she truly believes every experience she has had will value-add to everything she is looking to achieve.

“I try to get as much out of every experience as possible, especially with the incredible opportunities I’ve been given, and the skills I’ve learnt from them,” she said. “I think it can definitely propel me into the future of my choice, so whether that be starting another business or offering my skills and knowledge I think every experience will be very valuable. I have learnt the power of developing skills and I think that’s why I have juggles so many jobs, as I am constantly learning transferable skills.”

The move to Adelaide for that double degree in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience) and Business Marketing, has afforded Jess a chance to reflect on her past and the people and experiences that shaped her. “I’ve written messages to people that have helped me, whether that be schoolteachers or foster carers, because you really just take a step back and realise that was a really significant person in my life,” she said.

“You realise the positive effects that they had, even though it might have seemed so minor at the time, and how it is just the little things that can really change your trajectory as a young person.”

More foster carers are needed in the Limestone Coast. If you have space in your heart and home to make a difference in the life of a child, email [email protected], visit www.accare.org.au/services/ foster-care or call 1300 ACCARE.

MAKING IT COUNT: Mount Gambier teenager Jess Tresidder (pictured above promoting her business in 2021) has shared how living in foster care has shaped her life.