Nursing scholarship for Indigenous student

USQ first year student and Allora resident Ailie Lewis has been awarded a prestigious Puggy Hunter Memorial Nursing Scholarship.

An initiative of the Royal College of Nursing Australia, the scholarship provides financial assistance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are undertaking tertiary studies in the area of health.

Indigenous Education and Outreach Consultant Rhonda Hagan said that the scholarship was designed to urge Indigenous students to work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

'In areas of high population of Indigenous people it has been found that Indigenous workers are more effective in these communities,' Mrs Hagan said.

'These Scholarships are great because they encourage Indigenous people into health.'

Valued up to $15,000 a year, the Scholarship will also allow Ailie to focus on her Bachelor of Nursing degree.

'The money goes towards everything from HECS to living expenses and means that she can concentrate on study,' Mrs Hagan said.

After completing the Indigenous Higher Education Pathways Program (IHEPP) last year, Ailie applied for the scholarship after seeing the work that nurses do first hand.

'Last year I had a family tragedy and I got to see what nurses do and that was really inspirational for me,' she said.

'I found out about the scholarship through Kumbari at USQ and decided to apply, which required me to write around 10 pages about what I wanted to do when I graduated and how I would help Indigenous communities.'

Graduating from Assumption College in Warwick in 2005, Ailie is determined to come back to the area and assist Indigenous people in the region.

'I plan to go to one of the major hospitals in Brisbane after I graduate to learn as much as I can, but then I want to return to Warwick and the Darling Downs area and help out the Indigenous communities,' she said.

'I am looking forward to both going to University and also working in the Darling Downs region with the nursing knowledge that I will have.'

Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1628, 0403 643 192