The two inspirational young people, along with I CAN South West, are in line for Victorian Young Achiever awards.

Ms Chatfield has been nominated in both the regional achiever and the community service and social impact categories for her work within her local Aboriginal community.

Ms Chatfield faced a challenging upbringing and left school in year 11. But she returned to education and completed her schooling at South West TAFE, before completing an administrative traineeship through Brophy Family and Youth Services, who supported her to also complete a diploma of community services.

She is now based at the Gunditjmara Aboriginal Co-operative where she is a support worker in the Cradle to Kinder program, which helps mums at risk of entering child protection services.

Ms Chatfield said she had to “grow up quick”, an experience that helped in her current role.

“Each step I go I think ‘I can go bigger than that’,” she said.

Mr Bartlett, from Koroit, has worked to overcome his own challenges to reach his goals and has been nominated in the inspirational TAFE student award.

Mr Bartlett is expecting to complete a commerce degree at Deakin University in March and recently began work as a graduate accountant at South West TAFE.

“I have lived with mild autism and heart conditions since I was born. Having autism means learning at a different pace to my peers, and having heart conditions means regular check-ups in both Warrnambool and at The Royal Melbourne Hospital,” he said.

“I have been studying since March 2015, but as of March 2016 I have been studying a minimum of two units per trimester in order to complete my course at the end of my third year at Deakin University, meaning I have been studying for a total of 12 months straight.”

In that time, Mr Bartlett has maintained his commitment to musical theatre, taking part in Holiday Actors productions and becoming a senior advisory committee member.

I CAN South West, an advocacy, support group and mentoring program for people with autism, has been nominated in the group achievement award category.

Since getting up and running in 2016, I CAN South West has delivered mentoring to 21 young people. Mentoring programs are run with two mentors, one of whom is on the spectrum themselves. The programs aim to increase self-acceptance and social networking among people on the autism spectrum.

The group has also run a number of community fund-raising activities and a teen camp.

“Young mentees have gone above and beyond conquering their anxieties by participating in public speaking and communication activities,” the group’s nomination states.

“It is through this persistence that barriers are overcome, and our growth plan for the future will see many more mentors and mentees overcome their own challenges in the same way, through working with I CAN South West.”

Award winners will be announced at a gala presentation in Flemington on May 18.