Rebecca awarded $50,000 scholarship

Achievement

University of Adelaide student Rebecca Schultz has been awarded one of Australia's most prestigious scholarships at a ceremony in Old Parliament House, Canberra.

Rebecca, 18, who is in her first year of a double degree in Law and International Studies, was the only South Australian among 10 new Charles Hawker Scholars from around Australia announced last month.

An outstanding student, who achieved a TER of 99.65 after graduating from Seymour College in 2006, Rebecca was described by the scholarship trustees as " a dynamic, charismatic young woman with an innovative, creative mind and a gift for relating to other people".

Rebecca intends to pursue a career with the United Nations after finishing her degree.

The Charles Hawker Scholarships, valued at up to $60,000 over four years, are the most generous privately funded scholarships available to graduates and postgraduate students in Australia.

The scholarship perpetuates the memory of one of Australia's most respected pastoral pioneers, Charles Allan Seymour Hawker, born in 1894 and raised at Bungaree homestead near Clare, in South Australia.

Charles Hawker served with distinction in the First World War and went on to become a distinguished scholar and leading figure in Australia's Federal Parliament prior to his untimely death in an aircraft accident in 1938.

His sister, the late Lilias Needham, established the scholarship scheme in 1991 in memory of her brother. To date, the scholarship has provided more than $2 million to 50 young Australians.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Member for Wannon and Hawker family member, the Hon. David Hawker MP, presented the scholarship certificates to all 10 students at a ceremony in Canberra. Former SA Premier the Hon. John Bannon was also present. Mr Bannon is Master of St Mark's College in North Adelaide, where Rebecca resides.

"The scholarship pays for all my tuition fees and full board at St Mark's College for the next three years," Rebecca said. "I'm very fortunate because now I can concentrate fully on my studies."

Story by Candy Gibson