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Kate says the daily challenges of living with a disability played a big part in shaping her into the person she is today \u2013 someone who is perceptive, determined, strategic and a great listener.<\/p>\n
It has also instilled her with a desire to advocate for others and was behind her decision to apply for a position on the Surf Coast Shire’s All Abilities Advisory Committee (AAAC).<\/p>\n
Kate, who works as a business strategist for the NDIA, was among the four Surf Coast residents who were this week named as the successful candidates for the AAAC from 25 applicants.<\/p>\n
The Torquay mum is enthusiastic about the prospect of making a difference.<\/p>\n
“I really want to make sure that council proactively listens to people with a disability and doesn’t simply make changes that are ‘performative’,” she says.<\/p>\n
“I want real inclusion and real change, so people with a disability can enjoy our amazing shire just like everyone else does.<\/p>\n
“I have lived experience with hearing loss, and professional experience having worked as an occupational therapist for many years in the mental health sector.<\/p>\n
“But I haven’t had much experience on a community\/council level so I thought this would be a great opportunity to experience the sector from a whole new vantage point.”<\/p>\n
Kate, a talented netballer, admits her early years at school were not easy and she was the target of bullying which affected her confidence.<\/p>\n
“There was just one particular bully that gave me grief and I used to be called ‘bossy’ all the time because I was so straight to the point about everything,” she remembers.<\/p>\n
“They used to call my hearing aids ‘the things in my ears’ but it was just kids not understanding what they were.”<\/p>\n
Kate says the bullying stopped when she was in Grade 6 but it left a mark.<\/p>\n
“I definitely hardened up and I would say my emotional development was delayed as a result,” she says.<\/p>\n
“My confidence wasn’t great – and still isn’t – but I’m very, very grateful for the friends I made in high school. We are still very close to this day.”<\/p>\n
Kate says while her high school experience was positive, university was not.<\/p>\n
“The learning style with large lecture rooms did not suit me and having to always introduce myself and my hearing impairment was really hard,” she says.<\/p>\n
“The constant reminder of it made me quite anxious and I had a very difficult time.”<\/p>\n
Meeting her husband Tim \u2013 who she describes as her “best friend, partner and P.A all in one” \u2013 was a turning point, together with a move from Melbourne to the Surf Coast in 2012.<\/p>\n
“Tim was here most weekends surfing and we didn’t enjoy the city life – we originally grew up in the Macedon Ranges – so we quit our jobs and made the move,” Kate says of their lifechanging sea-change decision.<\/p>\n
Since moving to Torquay Kate has run her own business, had a popular blog and even wrote a book titled Healthy Habits which was an Amazon.com bestseller.<\/p>\n
She also had two gorgeous kids \u2013 Pippa, 3, and 18-month-old Huey.<\/p>\n
“I got a job within a month of moving here but Tim struggled and ended up starting his own building design business, which is very successful to this day,” she says.<\/p>\n
“In the end the best decision we ever made was to move here.<\/p>\n
“We’re never leaving!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kate Toholka was just 10 months old when she contracted a life-threatening illness after someone sneezed on her while her family shopped at a market. She fell ill within days and a two-week hospital stay followed, where she almost lost her young life to bacterial meningitis. But the full effects of her health battle would […]<\/p>\n