Education Bursaries
GWQ SC presents bursaries to women students at USC on an annual basis.
The application process for undergraduate bursaries is channelled through the Scholarships Office of USC.
Selection process is managed by a branch committee, according to established guidelines
Since 1996, our branch has given bursaries to female students from the University of the Sunshine Coast(USC) to assist them to further their studies. Money has been raised from donations, fundraising activities and in earlier years from gowning graduates of USC. Sadly this contract was lost a few years ago.
Up to 2021, GWQ SC has awarded $150,000 in bursaries to assist women students with their education. Since 2005, four $250 bursaries have been awarded to female students exiting Milpera State High School, an intensive English Language School for newly arrived young people of refugee and migrant background. In 2021, the first tertiary bursary of $1,500 was awarded to a refugee student.
Sally Chandler’s “Closing the Gap” three bursaries of $1000 each raised from her paintings were awarded annually to indigenous students at USC. These bursaries will be continued as funds allow.
The annual Bursary Award breakfast is held to award 3 bursaries of $1,500 to outstanding USC students. Other bursaries are presented at Milpera SHS, Burnside SHS or at our events as appropriate.
Undergraduate
- • Annual bursaries are offered to students who have completed at least 1 year of their degree
- • A competitive process, with academic merit as the first criteria (only those with minimum GPA of 5.5 are considered)
- • Occurs over April/May
STEMM (Burnside SHS)
- • Supporting Teenagers with Education, Mothering & Mentoring
- • 1 annual bursary of $500 for a STEMM student, who has successfully completed the TPP course and is enrolling in USC.
- • Recipient is selected by STEMM coordinators and recommended to GWQ SC
For further details regarding USC undergraduate scholarships and bursaries please contact:
USC Scholarships Office
We congratulate all of our Bursary recipients! Wendy Ashley-Cooper with Nasteho Mukhtar Nasteho Mukhtar GWQ SC Refugee Education Program (REP) Tertiary Bursary. Nasteho comes from Somalia. She is about to complete her first year of a double degree in Social Work and Psychology at QUT Wendy Ashley-Cooper with Taryn Miller Taryn Miller Recipient of the GWQ SC Indigenous Tertiary Bursary. Taryn is studying an Occupational Therapy (Hons) degree at UniSC. Jahna Cafe (Law); Belinda Christensen (Nutrition / Biomedical Science); Rebekah Belte-Dewet (Psychology) Jahna Cafe is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree. Since commencing her degree she has worked in various law firms on the Sunshine Coast in legal support roles, specialising in the areas of property law and wills and estate law. Jahna recently was accepted for the position of Judge’s associate for the Hon. Justice Paul Freeburn of the Supreme Court of Queensland. Jahna’s Honours thesis explores legal barriers to those displaced by climate change. Her career goals are to be admitted to the Supreme Court as a Solicitor and eventually to become a barrister. She is passionate about law and how it can drive social change. Belinda Christensen is in her fourth year of a double degree, Bachelor of Nutrition / Bachelor of Biomedical Science. She is very involved in many facets of the University, including being Co-chairperson of the UniSC School of Health and Behavioural Sciences Student Representative Group. She is also on the executive committee of the Dietetic and Nutrition Student Society. Belinda plans to do Honours next year and commence a PHD in 2024. She will centre her PHD thesis around a food systems approach to improve food security and reduce waste. Her current research project includes the impact of COVID on food systems and on school food environments in the Pacific Islands Region. Belinda sees her future career in academia as a researcher. Rebekah Belte-Dewet is currently completing her Honours year in a Bachelor of Psychology and wants to continue her studies to obtain her Master of Clinical Psychology. Whilst studying for her degree, Rebekah has worked for 1.5 years in a paid position as a psychosocial trauma coach at Real Life Skills Support Services. Rebekah’s goal is to work with postnatal women and adolescents. To facilitate these goals, Rebekah has volunteered at a local psychology clinic that specialises in providing support to women struggling with postnatal depression. She is also collecting data to conduct her research into the relationship between meta-cognition, executive functioning, and adolescents’ mental health. She is the President of the Psychology Club at UniSC. L-R: Heidi Osbourne (Civil Engineering); Jaclyn Tahu (Nursing); Alana Colton (Dietetics) Heidi Osbourne is studying Civil Engineering. Her plan for a thesis project is with Engineers Without Borders, and aims to improve options for women in developing countries towards menstrual hygiene, which will contribute significantly to their quality of life. Jaclyn Tahu is a nursing student. Her academic referee noted her respectful and caring attitude towards patients, and this was evident when she spoke of her passion to be an excellent nurse and to show empathy to all those with whom she works. Alana Colton is studying dietetics. Her honours project concerns the functional ability of patients with blood cancers, and how this study will lead to more targeted nutrition and exercise interventions. Alana demonstrated a very keen interest in our organisation and spoke about the power of women working together. Rachel Taylor is our 2021 Closing the Gap bursary recipient. She is currently studying for Bachelor of Human Services at USC. In her second semester practicum, Rachel asked to be placed in child protection or youth services for First Nations children. Rachel’s ultimate goal is to be involved in community initiatives and programs within First Nation communities Kristy Benson is a midwifery student with a GPA of 7, reflecting her deep passion for this field of study. She lives at Hervey Bay and makes a weekly six- hour round trip to the Sippy Downs campus for lectures. Madeline Foster is studying Medical Science, a relatively new course at USC, which will lead her to medical studies at SCUH. Tiffany Stevenson is a business student at the Gympie campus of USC. She has achieved a GPA of 6.9 and has really found her niche in the area of marketing and communication. Sara is the winner of the $1,500 bursary from the 2017 Queensland Community Service Award. We congratulate our 2017 Undergraduate Bursary recipients Left to right: Committee members Janet Sweatman and Robyn Redknap
Recipients of 2022 Undergraduate Bursaries
More Bursary Recipients 2022
Recipients of 2021 Undergraduate Bursaries
Sally Chandler Closing the Gap Indigenous Bursary recipient
2020 USC Bursary Recipients
Sara is studying Diploma of Nursing at the Mater Hospital, Brisbane. She spoke eloquently about her family background and her aspirations for future study.
Asha Sara, Nicole Lambert, Melissa Bartels
Julie Reeves - B Environmental Management
Kate Whitaker - B Business
Eliza Berry - B Occupational Therapy (Honours)
with Bursary recipients Julie Reeves, Kate Whitaker and Eliza Berry
with two other committee members Marijke Boonstra and Committee Chair Judy Allinson
