HER uncle is former Essendon great Michael Long and her cousins Dean and Cyril Rioli are an Essendon retiree and Hawthorn forward respectively.
But 19-year-old Narelle Long is making a name in her own right.
The first-year Victoria University Footscray Park student was awarded an Indigenous Youth Leadership Program tertiary scholarship earlier this month.
Miss Long, who is combining a bachelor of exercise science and human movement with a bachelor of sport and recreation, will have her 2008 and 2009 tuition fees covered as part of the scholarship.
She hopes to become a physiotherapist after completing the four-year double degree and said the money would be a great help.
Miss Long moved to Maribyrnong from Darwin this year to tackle the degree and a more competitive track and field scene in a bid to make the London 2012 Olympics.
The keen sprinter was involved with the Northern Territory Institute of Sport back home and last month won the heptathlon at the Oceania Championships in Saipan.
She is training six days a week with former 400m Australian champion Mark Ladbrook and plans to join the Old Melburnians Athletics Club for the summer season.
Her brother Anthony is studying nearby at Melbourne Grammar on a football scholarship.
Miss Long said the transition from family life to her own room, a communal kitchen and a shared bathroom with two other girls took some getting used to.
“It’s been a bit hard. Certainly at the start it took me a while to adjust, but I’ve settled in now,” she said.
She intends to remain in Melbourne after finishing her course.
Making her own running … Scholarship winner Narelle Long.
Picture: JOSEPHINEHARKIN.
