Young achievers take centre stage - and awards!
 Achievement
Past and present University of Adelaide students have performed well at the recent 2005 Young Achiever of the Year awards. Music, Law and Arts graduate Patrick Lim (pictured right) won the overall title of Young Achiever of the Year and also the Arts category, while Physiology PhD student Beverly Mühlhäusler (below right) won the Science and Technology category (which was sponsored by the university's Faculty of Sciences). The third Adelaide student to feature in the awards was Education graduate Kiara Rahman who won the Outstanding Young Indigenous Achiever category, and who is now studying for her PhD at the University of South Australia. Patrick Lim With a demanding schedule including freelance and voluntary work along with his numerous performing commitments, it is a passion for his craft and the State's up-and-coming performers that motivates Adelaide graduate Patrick Lim. Patrick admits to working from 8.30am to 10.30pm on a typical day and moving between roles as Artistic Director for both the State Opera of South Australia Young Artist Opera Studio and the 2005 Primary Schools' Festival of Music, and rehearsals and performances for shows.
Patrick, 25, from Happy Valley, won the Arts category and then claimed the overall award from eight other category winners. A multiple degree holder with the University of Adelaide, Patrick trained at the Elder Conservatorium where he received a Bachelor of Music with first class Honours in classical voice. His other degrees are a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English literature, a Bachelor of Laws with Honours, and two Associate Diplomas in Speech and Drama. Patrick is bringing forth skills from his diverse studies in his work as Artistic Director of State Opera's Young Artist Opera Studio where he has produced chamber operas and musical theatre works resulting in more than 100 singing roles for young artists including many graduates of Elder Conservatorium. Patrick, who gave 150 performances last year including appearances in Sydney and a return visit to New York following the success of his 2002 solo cabaret show at one of New York's top cabaret venues, said the award was an opportunity to use his profile and expertise to give something back to Adelaide. "It gives young artists the opportunity to perform in their hometown rather than having to travel elsewhere," he said. He has also been helping uncover the "next generation" of young talent while travelling around the State conducting auditions for the SA Primary Schools' Festival of Music to be held in September. Patrick said winning the Young Achiever of the Year "highlights the value of what I have contributed to South Australia's Arts industry, and what the arts industry contributes to our society as a whole". Beverley Mühlhäusler Beverley Mühlhäusler's research could help pave the way for intervention strategies to reduce the risk of obesity. Bev, 25, the winner of the Science and Technology category of the 2005 SA Young Achiever Awards, is in the third year of her Physiology PhD. Her research is focused on the effects of over-nutrition during pregnancy and potential changes within the brain which could lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular complications in later life. "I'm looking at the appetite regulating system in the brain, how it's affected by environmental changes before birth and whether the system could be permanently changed and result in overeating for the rest of a person's life," she said. She said over-nutrition could occur as a result of over-eating or mothers with diabetes who exposed their babies to a higher level of glucose. A two-time recipient of the Postgraduate All-Rounder Award, Bev has presented at a series of national and international conferences and is active in the Australian Society for Medical Research and university teaching programs. Story by Lisa Toole
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