By Callum Ludwig
Three new Upper Yarra university students have received a boost to their tertiary education efforts from the Community Bank of Warburton and Yarra Junction.
Ashlyn Hermansen, Lucas Rush and Grace Cole have all received a grant of $3000 to help them with the beginning of their studies through the bank’s annual scholarship program.
Ms Hermansen said she has started a Bachelor of Arts degree at Monash University, majoring in journalism.
“After watching Bridget Jones’ Diary for the first time when I was 15, I had a massive interest in journalism because I felt similar to the character and then all throughout high school, I found that I was always more passionate about my writing and the literature subjects rather than anything mathematical or to do with science,” she said.
“To write and to discuss topics about the media and all that sort of stuff, world topics, politics and came a lot more naturally to me and so I figured that was going to be something like I wanted to pursue in the future.”
Ms Hermansen is a former Upper Yarra Secondary College student and is now completing her studies at Monash University’s Caulfield campus.
Ms Hermansen said the support of the grant is huge because she has just had some issues with her laptop and car.
“I’ve already started study and my laptop broke down about a week before it was supposed to start and then my car also broke down so getting to and from uni was also going to be a massive struggle,” she said.
“So far I’ve really enjoyed going into the tutorials that we have here, it’s very discussion-based, so we’ve been learning the knowledge prior and then being able to discuss the knowledge with like-minded people and develop further with other people’s opinions has been really helpful.”
Fellow Upper Yarra Secondary College alumni Lucas Rush has started a double Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science and Business (Sport Management) at Deakin University’s Burwood campus.
Mr Rush said at first he didn’t have any plans after finishing school and wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.
“I wanted to continue learning about sport and doing sport so I just thought this was a good way to continue on that track and I do like the idea of staying in the sport conditioning and training aspect of it,” he said.
“Uni has been a lot more free and easy-going than high school so far and it’s definitely a big change but it’s been all good,”
“(The scholarship) will be really helpful because I’m already being told about all the textbooks I have to get so it will be great to put towards that.”
The Community Bank of Warburton and Yarra Junction opens for applications every December for first-year university of TAFE students to support them as they begin their studies. The program has provided $48,000 since beginning 11 years ago.
Ex-Lilydale High School student Grace Cole is starting a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science (Wildlife and Conservation Biology) at Deakin University’s Burwood campus and said she is really grateful for the scholarship as the fieldwork makes her course a bit more expensive.
“I’m learning about sustainability, the environment and how to safely trap and record animal species so we can help threatened species this year and next year I get to go on global placement and help everywhere around the world which is really cool,” she said.
“I am not really sure what exact career I’d like at the moment, I just know this is what I’m passionate about, I have some friends from high school who are doing a similar course, and we’re going to volunteer with a bunch of different careers, so hopefully we can figure out which one we want.”
Ms Cole is looking forward to an opportunity to travel to Borneo next year and potentially Costa Rica the following year through her studies and explore them and their reputation as ‘biodiversity hotspots.’
“Supporting students towards tertiary study is part of the branches’ commitment to providing opportunities for our youth and ultimately building a stronger Upper Yarra community,” Community Bank Warburton and Yarra Junction Senior Branch Manager Kristy Sumner said.
“It’s just another part of our Community Investment program that we are very proud of.”
