Outstanding students win $2.6 million in scholarships
Thursday, 23 February 2012
A total of $2.6 million in scholarships is being awarded to 180 outstanding new students by the University of Adelaide this year.
The scholarships - aimed at supporting the best students from across the state, and schools in rural Victoria, Northern Territory and Broken Hill - will be awarded at a special scholarships presentation ceremony this Friday, 24 February in Bonython Hall.
Among this year's scholarship winners is the 2012 Andy Thomas Scholar: Tim Atkinson, 18, from Lyndoch, who attended Trinity College at Gawler. The prestigious Andy Thomas Scholarship, named in honour of the University of Adelaide engineering graduate and NASA astronaut, is worth more than $56,000 over the four years of study.
Among the winners of the Adelaide Undergraduate Scholarships, who all received an ATAR score of 99.95 (with no bonuses), is May Huynh of Croydon Park. May is one of a record five students from University Senior College this year to win a highly-prized Adelaide Undergraduate Scholarship among a total of 35 students. They each receive $10,610 a year (indexed) for up to four years.
Winners of the University of Adelaide Principals' Scholarships include the first recipient from Roma Mitchell Secondary College, Bradley Archer, and Dylan Gerschwitz, from Port Augusta Secondary School.
The Principals' Scholarship recipients are nominated by their Principal as students who have made a significant contribution to their school and the wider community. There are 138 Principals' Scholarship recipients this year, all receiving $5,000 to assist with education and living costs in their first year of study.
"The University of Adelaide is proud to be able to offer a significant scholarship scheme to support these outstanding students from many schools and regions, including our rural schools," said Vice-Chancellor and President Professor James McWha.
"Scholarships act as an incentive for students to achieve excellence in their studies and offer a range of other benefits such as helping students focus on their education by taking the financial pressure off. In some cases, receiving a scholarship means students don't need to get a job to support themselves while they study. They can help to pay for textbooks, a new computer, or relocation costs from country areas to the city.
"These students have already revealed their outstanding character and academic ability and we are very pleased they have chosen to study at the University of Adelaide."
At Friday's ceremony, the University will also present five Adelaide International Undergraduate Scholarships, one Adelaide International Honours Scholarship and one Adelaide Study Abroad Scholarship.
Background on individual scholarship winners:
Tim Atkinson, Andy Thomas Scholar
Tim Atkinson, 18, from Lyndoch who went to Trinity College at Gawler, is the 2012 winner of the prestigious Andy Thomas Scholarship. Tim will study a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronic).
"Mechatronic Engineering sounded like something that would be very relevant for the future, matching up robotics with electrical and mechanical engineering," said Tim.
Tim worked very hard in Year 12 to achieve a 99.95 ATAR.
"I'd heard about the Adelaide Undergraduate Scholarships and I told myself that I could achieve that score - that was my target," he said. "Getting the Andy Thomas Scholarship is fantastic. It allows me to focus on doing well at Uni and enjoying myself because I won't have to worry too much about getting a casual job."
May Huynh, Adelaide Undergraduate Scholar
May Huynh, 17 of Croydon Park, has always been interested in how things work.
"I've always read up on things, finding out what makes them work. When I was little I wanted to be an inventor," she said.
May will study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide.
For her SACE studies, May studied five subjects instead of the required four plus her Research Project and achieved an ATAR of 99.95, giving her an Adelaide Undergraduate Scholarship. She'd studied Year 12 at University Senior College and was one of a record five students from USC to win one of the highly sought-after scholarships.
"The Scholarship means less pressure on my parents financially," May said. "It means I can concentrate on University."
Bradley Archer, University of Adelaide Principals' Scholar
Bradley Archer, 17, of Salisbury North, is the first Principals' Scholar from Roma Mitchell Secondary College.
Bradley will study a Bachelor of Teaching with a Bachelor of Science. His Year 12 Science teachers in Chemistry and Biology were a great inspiration and he hopes to be able to similarly inspire other school students in science.
"It's important for students to be able to relate to the teachers and for science to be a fun learning environment," he said.
Bradley is delighted to be a Principals' Scholar. "My school is really proud of me and I'm proud of myself," he said. "It's going to provide some extra opportunities this year and will be helpful in buying equipment and textbooks."
Dylan Gerschwitz, University of Adelaide Principals' Scholar
Dylan Gerschwitz, 18 from Port Augusta, is a keen mountain biker and already has firm plans to combine this hobby with a career.
"I'd like to go into bicycle frame design and chose Mechanical Engineering because that seemed to be the degree closest to what I need," Dylan said. He's also planning to get involved in mountain biking and road cycling at University.
Dylan went to Port Augusta Secondary School. He said the Scholarship would be a great benefit to him. "I'm a country student and it's hard to set up a separate household in the city. This will help out with costs."
He's also taking part in the University's SmoothStart program to help the transition to University. "Coming from the country, I thought it would be a handy way to meet some people from Adelaide and get my head around the campus."
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