Students and graduates among state's Young Achievers

Renae Kirkham (right) was presented with her award by Lyn Poole, Chief Executive Officer, Rural Doctors Workforce Agency.
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Ashley Flavel was unable to return to Australia for the awards and was represented by his brother Chris (right), who was presented with the award by Professor Bob Hill, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Adelaide.
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Adam Kilpatrick (right) was presented with his award by Peter Cheers, General Manager Human Resources and Marine Services, Flinders Ports.
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David Speirs (right) was presented with his award by Sue Doyle, Executive General Manager People and Culture, Adelaide Airport Limited.
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Olympic kayaker Hannah Davis. Hannah was unable to attend the awards due to competition commitments.
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Monday, 19 March 2012

University of Adelaide students and graduates have been strongly represented in the 2012 Channel 9 Young Achiever of the Year Awards.

The annual awards were presented on Saturday night at the Hilton Adelaide hotel.

Of the 10 category winners, half are students or graduates of the University of Adelaide. They are:

Renae Kirkham, 25, of Port Augusta - winner of the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency Rural Health Award

Renae is a current PhD student in the University of Adelaide's Discipline of Public Health and previously graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (2007) and Bachelor of Health Sciences with Honours (2008). She works with Aboriginal groups to alleviate disadvantage and improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people. Through her PhD, Renae is exploring the roles of Specialised Aboriginal Maternal Infant Care workers in Country Health SA's Aboriginal Family Birthing Program. She has also undertaken many other initiatives to improve Aboriginal health and wellbeing, often in a voluntary capacity.

Dr Ashley Flavel, 28, of Northgate - winner of the University of Adelaide Faculty of Sciences Science and Technology Award

Dr Flavel is a three-time graduate of the University of Adelaide, with a Bachelor of Science (Mathematical and Computer Sciences) (2003), Bachelor of Engineering (Information Technology & Telecommunications) (2004) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering (2009). Dr Flavel designs technologies that improve the speed of the internet. His vision for cloud computing, content delivery and distributed systems is currently improving internet services throughout the world. After 3 years with AT&T Labs in New York, Ashley recently joined Microsoft. He has published many papers, presented at international conferences and leading universities and has numerous patents.

Adam Kilpatrick, 27, of North Adelaide - winner of the Flinders Ports Environment Award

Adam is a PhD student in the University of Adelaide's School of Earth & Environmental Sciences and previously graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Sustainable Environments) (2007) and Bachelor of Science with Honours (2008). Adam is passionate about biodiversity, conservation and management in arid environments. Through his PhD studies, Adam has developed groundbreaking new methods for monitoring rangelands. This is achieved using satellite remote sensing technology, known as "cross-fence comparison monitoring methodology". Adam has also contributed to several important environmental research projects.

Hannah Davis, 26, of Glenelg - winner of the Worldwide Online Printing Sports Award

Hannah has both a Bachelor degree (2010) and Masters (2011) in International Studies at the University of Adelaide. A world-class kayaker, Hannah was identified by the SA Sports Institute (SASI) Talent ID program as a candidate for kayaking at the age of 14. She has held a SASI scholarship ever since and an Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship since 2005. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Hannah won a Bronze medal in the ladies K4 500 metre event. At the 2011 World Championships, she earned Olympic qualification for the K4 500 event in London 2012 and won a Bronze medal in the ladies K2 200 metre event. Hannah is the Women's Captain for the Australian National Sprint Kayak team.

Cr David Speirs, 27, of Kingston Park - winner of the Adelaide Airport Limited Community Leadership Award

After migrating to Australia in 2002, David Speirs graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Laws in 2008. He has a passion for the environment and serving the community. He is a competitive surf life saver and National Director of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. In 2010, he became the youngest person elected to the City of Marion Council and now serves as Deputy Mayor. He is a youth leader at Edwardstown Baptist Church and led two groups of volunteers to build houses in Uganda. In 2009 he was awarded Young Citizen of the Year by the City of Marion, and in 2010 the St Louise de Marillac Award for Social Justice Leadership Action.

For more information about the Young Achiever Awards for South Australia, go to the awards website.

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