Council awards four scholarships

Scholarships

Four University of Adelaide undergraduate students were recently awarded the City of West Torrens Max and Bette Mendelson Foundation Scholarships at a presentation ceremony in the West Torrens Civic Centre.

The annual scholarships provide students who live in the council area with financial support for a year of their undergraduate studies, at a value of $3000 per student per year.

The scholarships are a joint initiative of the City of West Torrens Council and two of the area's most generous former residents, Max and Bette Mendelson.

The Council inaugurated the scholarship scheme in 1992 to assist residents who wished to undertake tertiary studies, and were partnered by the Mendelsons soon after. Mr and Mrs Mendelson, having no children of their own, wanted their estate to benefit the wider community and so decided to bequeath their estate to the Council in order to enlarge the existing scholarship scheme.

In 2006, the scholarships were awarded to four students from each of the South Australian universities. This year's University of Adelaide recipients are Sanjay Schrapel (Bachelor of Economics/Bachelor of Law), Matthew Del Fante (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery), Victor Draghicescu (Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Law) and Andrew Moschou (Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace)/Bachelor of Mathematical & Computer Sciences).

The Hon. John Trainer, Mayor of the City of West Torrens, hosted the presentation ceremony. The Guest of Honour, Ian Webber AO, presented the scholarships and addressed the scholarship winners and guests. Mr Webber is a University of Adelaide engineering graduate and is one of South Australia's most successful businessmen, whose credits include directorships of some of Australia's most well-known companies, including Mitsubishi, Santos and WMC.

Competition for the annual scholarships is high. Successful applicants have usually achieved outstanding academic results. Other criteria include residence in the City of West Torrens for at least five years prior to the application date.

For more information about the City of West Torrens Max and Bette Mendelson Foundation Scholarships, visit: www.adelaide.edu.au/scholarships. Applications for 2007 will open in March of next year.

Story by Lana Guineay