Melissa Topper defied the odds to land work

Melissa Toppper goes to work with a smile on her face, knowing she is doing what she loves.

Ms Topper landed a casual customer service job at the Salisbury North Foodworks on Trinity Crescent after a lengthy battle with anxiety.

The 27-year-old says she has "been through various things as kid", including leukaemia, which heightened her levels of anxiety and prevented her from gaining employment.

But Ms Topper decided it was time to fight her battle and signed up to Advanced Personnel Management - a disability employment service - at Smithfield last year.

She enrolled in a Certificate II in Retail in a bid to gain new skills, which eventually led to her gaining employment at the store.

Ms Topper works four hours per week on a Monday. It is her first job. "I really enjoy it and the staff I work with are brilliant," Ms Topper says.

"Customer service, stocking the freezers and fizzy drinks, sorting out fruit to be chucked away and cleaning are the tasks I usually do.

"The training program was good, it helped me to get here."