Last Thursday 28 April, we happily presented four incredible health students with scholarships totalling $25,000 to help fund their studies and open new opportunities.
There’s no doubt these bright young people will go on to do amazing things—they’re already making an incredible impact on the Yarra Ranges.
Keep reading to meet our winners!
Top prize winner: Amy, physiotherapy student
Amy is undertaking a Doctor of Physiotherapy at Monash University. Her $10,000 scholarship prize will help fund her final semester.
She looks forward to fully immersing herself in a regional placement in Hobart — where she’ll gain a deeper understanding of the challenges these patients face, free from financial burden.
Amy is passionate about working in the Yarra Ranges and advocating for funding and policy changes relating to better health outcomes for our community. She’d love to run a program for local schools to help students find their way into health careers.
Community contribution:
Amy was a gymnastics, tumbling and cheerleading coach in Lilydale for over a decade. She led athletes to regional, state and national championship titles and positively affected the lives of young people through sport.
In 2021, to honour her mum who’s fighting a rare blood cancer, Amy raised over $5100 for Myeloma Australia by running over 60 km in a month.
Myeloma Australia shared her fundraising story on social media and had more fundraising sign-ups than ever before. How incredible is that!
Runner up winner: Zoe, physiotherapy student
A postgraduate physiotherapy student, Zoe is our $7500 scholarship recipient—and our new scholarship ambassador! Having also won a scholarship in 2018, she hopes to inspire more young people to apply for our scholarships in years to come.
Zoe plans to use part of her scholarship to expand a mental health program she developed at her university. Her aim is to foster social connection between students to support wellbeing.
Community contribution
Among her many volunteering roles, Zoe donates her time to the Royal Children’s Hospital’s emergency department to provide support to families and children and train new volunteers.
Zoe also works as an allied health assistant at Eastern Health so is already using her skills to contribute to the healthcare system in our region. Congrats Zoe!
Encouragement Award: Danielle, nursing student
It’s only natural that Danielle’s passion for helping and caring for vulnerable people led her to study nursing at Charles Darwin University. She plans to work as a neonatal nurse in a children’s hospital, caring for sick babies and providing advanced care.
Danielle fundraises and takes part in local events around the Yarra Valley and at her local high school. What’s more, for almost 5 years, Danielle has been visiting refugees and asylum seekers at the Broadmeadows Detention Centre to learn about their lives and listen to their inspiring and courageous stories. She’s an inspiration!
Encouragement Award: Olivia, occupational therapy student
Olivia’s putting what she learns in her occupational therapy course to good use in her roles as a sports trainer, assistant coach and swim teacher. Her goal is to create a better, more equal community and place to live – for everyone.
Olivia says her scholarship will allow her to do a short course to help specialise her treatment ability. Having received help from health services and hospitals herself, she wants to be able to provide the same care for others. Go Olivia!
Start thinking about your application for 2023!
Since the scholarships began in 2000, we’ve given away more than $70,000 to deserving health students from the Yarra Ranges. YOU could be our next recipient!
