Bega Valley Shire councillors were so impressed by the calibre of applicants for council’s Young Women’s Scholarship that they awarded four this year.
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The $500 scholarships were presented to three of the awardees by Cr Sharon Tapscott at the opening of the International Women’s Day art exhibition at the Spiral Gallery earlier this month.
Council’s community development officer Emma Benton said the recipients each presented an excellent example of young women engaging fully in their chosen field of study.
“Having four scholarship recipients is something to be proud of as it demonstrates the high standard of achievement in our local students and educators,” Ms Benton said.
“It gives us a great deal of pleasure to award these scholarships to four deserving recipients, and we trust they will each receive a welcome boost to help them achieve their professional goals.”
The awardees were Georgia Shellard, Jacinta Grifin, Lily Nugent and Kaela McCulloch.
Georgia Shellard, 21, of Candelo is doing a Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Wollongong Bega campus and mentors school students exploring career aspirations.
She works as an assistant in nursing at the Bega District Hospital and as a receptionist and children’s activities coordinator at a local caravan park during her university holidays.
Ms Shellard hopes to get a nursing position at the new regional hospital on graduation before undertaking a Bachelor of Midwifery. She will use her scholarship to assist in her university work placement.
Jacinta Griffin, 23, of Bega is an enthusiastic career-driven person and sees herself as a positive role model.
She has many hobbies including stewarding and exhibiting cattle at shows across NSW and is a member of many community organisations including the Bega Show Society, Bega Volleyball, Agricultural Societies of NSW and the Bega Lions Club.
Ms Griffin felt by taking on executive roles in organisations she can influence and empower young people to become more involved in their community.
She will use her scholarship to attend conferences and functions across Australia to learn new skills and knowledge to empower the coming generation to get involved.
Lily Nugent, 20, of Pambula grew up in the Bega Valley Shire and when her family moved away when she was in secondary school she decided to continue her senior years at Lumen Christi Catholic College, which required her to live independently.
She held three jobs to support herself while she was completing her HSC.
When she left school she found work as a junior animal attendant at a veterinary practice and undertook a Certificate II in Animal Studies.
She is currently working as a veterinary nurse, studying a Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing and expects to graduate in June.
Her experience has inspired her to apply to study Veterinary Science at University.
Ms Nugent will use her scholarship to buy a veterinary nursing manual and other relevant text books.
Kaela McCulloch, 25, of Wapengo is studying part-time, working as a waitress and is a project officer for Partners in Recovery, which aims to better support people living with severe and persistent mental illness.
She is also co-facilitator of the Partners in Recovery ‘Hearing Voices’ group and is keen to set up set up a journal/blog detailing the process of setting up such a group in regional areas.
She will use her scholarship to buy a tablet device that will enable her to video group participation and help group members stay up to date with technological advances.