Iesha Gavaghan, one of this year’s recipients of a University of Western Sydney scholarship, took to the microphone at last night’s council meeting to thank Campbelltown Council for helping her achieve her ambition to become a doctor.
“I want you to know how grateful I am and that I will work hard to repay this generosity,’’ Ms Gavaghan said while addressing councillors and staff at last night’s meeting.
The recipient of the Brenton Banfield medical scholarship, Ms Gavaghan will study for a Doctorate of Medicine degree at UWS.
“I am incredibly grateful and will endeavour to always honour this gift through dedication to my studies and active engagement with my community,” she said.
“As I spend the next five years learning how to treat patients, I will never forget the importance of a doctor’s relationship with their local community.”
Hers was one of three scholarships offered by council for the past 15 years at the local university. The other two are the John E Hely Engineering and the Ian Porter scholarships.
The scholarships are named in honour of former council general manager Ian Porter, former mayor Brenton Banfield and long serving former director of city works John Hely.
Kayesha Ganem, the recipient of this year’s Ian Porter scholarship, will study for Bachelor of Science degree.
Zahraa Alkhafaji, who received the Ian Hely scholarship, will be studying Engineering (Honours) and Business.
Mayor George Brticevic said Campbelltown Council was proud to support the education of local students and looked forward to seeing their contributions to the local community in the future.
“We want our local students to be studying in this area and these scholarships provide the opportunity for some of our outstanding young people to do just that,” Cr Brticevic said.
“These scholarships are named in honour of people who contributed so much to our community in the past and will enable the next generation to learn the skills required to contribute in the future,” he said.
Scholarship winners are selected by a panel of representatives from Western Sydney University and Campbelltown Council based on a written application, academic potential and their performance in an interview with the panel.
The cost of each scholarship varies, depending on the type of degree undertaken by the successful student.
