(Photo: Qld State Library)
February 5, 2020
Applications have opened for one of the South Burnett’s most sought after annual tertiary scholarships.
The Dr Ellen Mary Kent Hughes Memorial Scholarship provides a maximum $5000 grant to a South Burnett woman who is intending to begin tertiary study in 2020.
The bursary is co-ordinated each year by a local not-for-profit organisation, South Burnett Women, with the aim of creating opportunities for women in the local region.
It was established in 2016 in honour of the achievements of Dr Ellen Kent Mary Hughes who became Queensland’s first female councillor when she was elected to the Kingaroy Shire Council in 1923.
Dr Kent Hughes (1893-1979) also worked as a medical practitioner, was made honorary paediatrician at the Armidale and New England Hospital and served as a government medical officer.
Applications for the scholarship close on February 28, 2020.
Applicants will be interviewed on March 5.
The 2020 scholarship is being offered in partnership with the Red Earth Community Foundation and with financial support from AGL Coopers Gap Wind Farm Community Fund, Bega Cheese and Dr Mark Radford.
Dr Radford, the executive director of the South Bank Day Hospital which operates the Lady Bjelke-Petersen Community Hospital in Kingaroy, has a direct link to Dr Kent Hughes … she was his great-aunt.
The 2019 scholarship winner was former Kingaroy State High School student Meghann Plant who is studying biomedical science at the University of Queensland.
External links:
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Eligibility
To be eligible applicants must be:
- An Australian Citizen or have permanent resident status
- A usual resident of the South Burnett as defined by the local government boundaries
- Female
- Enrolled at a tertiary education institution by January 31, 2020
- Able to demonstrate academic or employment credentials
- Able to demonstrate previous recent community contribution
- Able to demonstrate financial merits ie why you need the scholarship
Selection Criteria
Applicants will:
- Submit a personal statement outlining a description of their career aims and goals, how the scholarship will assist them to achieve their future career plans, their personal financial circumstances to establish financial merits
- Provide evidence of sound or higher academic achievement eg. high school report card or post-secondary academic history, as applicable
- For mature applicants, provide evidence of employment or academic achievement
- Demonstrate a history of involvement within their school, extracurricular activities or within their local community
- Provide a personal written reference from a teacher or community leader supporting the merit of the applicant with reference to the criteria
- Demonstrate a commitment to social justice principles and/or bringing people from diverse backgrounds together; or leadership and communication skills
- Attach their curriculum vitae
- Attach proof of residence within the South Burnett region as defined by the local government boundaries by providing a copy of one of the following: drivers licence, Electoral Commission notice; telephone or electricity bills, correspondence from an organisation such as Centrelink or a financial institution
- Be available for interview and attendance at the award ceremony
- Red Earth Community Foundation and South Burnett Women have reserved the right to alter the conditions of the scholarship/bursary based upon exceptional circumstances and to not award it in a given year should the applications not provide a suitable recipient
How To Apply
Candidates should complete the Scholarship Application Form, a cover letter addressing the selection criteria and collate all relevant supporting documentation.
Collate and scan all documents in order as one PDF file saved as your first initial and surname, ie. Mary Jones would be M Jones.
Email the file to southburnettwomen@gmail.com
