Going into my third year of a mining engineering degree was a big step for me – moving out of home for the first time, to a town very different from Perth, 650km away. This included new challenges such as paying rent, cooking three meals a day, and ensuring a healthy uni-life balance. This was all a new experience for me, in addition, Covid-19 had just started to gain momentum in Australia. Taking such a large step in life, mixed with a global pandemic created a lot of uncertainty and nervousness during that period.
The WASM scholarship was a key element in my success during my third year. During Covid it was hard to find work, the scholarship meant that I was able to afford living in Kalgoorlie without working. This ensured that I was able to have healthy meals as well as have extra time to focus on my uni work. Every dollar was essential during the first period of Covid as there was a lot of uncertainty as to whether the industry would fully recover. The safety net that the scholarship was able to provide ensured I never had to worry about losing all of my money, giving me one less thing to worry about in a very challenging time.
I am now in my fourth year, with a graduate position lined up for when I graduate. The scholarship I received enabled me to focus harder on my studies and improve my course weighted average drastically. This helped me when applying for jobs in both vacation and graduate positions which I’m very thankful for.
