Welcome to our 2022 UWA Fogarty Scholars
Ten of the state’s highest achieving students have accepted UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarships, including Lawrence Nheu who was also awarded the UWA Fogarty Beazley Medallist Scholarship. Today, we had the pleasure of welcoming them to the UWA Fogarty Scholars family as they enjoyed breakfast at St Catherine’s College.
UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarships offer the State’s brightest and most committed students a full scholarship for the entirety of their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Scholars are selected based on their academic excellence and outstanding achievements in leadership, community involvement, enterprise, the arts and/or sport.
Winners of the 2022 UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarships include Lawrence Nheu, Beazley Medallist (Perth Modern), Ben Scott (Scotch College), Daniel Zhou (Christ Church Grammar School), Peter Bruce (Wesley College), Joel Peiris (Perth Modern), Shantelle Jeyakumar (Woodvale Secondary College), Naveen Nimalan (Aquinas College), Phoebe Dyson (Methodist Ladies’ College), Caleb Adams (Perth Modern) and Josh Snow (Busselton Senior High School).
Phoebe Dyson said she applied for the UWA Fogarty Scholarship Program because she saw it as an invaluable way to connect with inspiring, like-minded individuals while making the most of opportunities to grow and flourish as a leader.
“I would love to make a difference in this world, and I see the UWA Fogarty Scholarship Program as a tangible way for me to instigate purposeful change,” Phoebe explained.
“I am particularly looking forward to meeting other students in the Fogarty Scholars community and immersing myself in the range of mentoring and leadership opportunities that are provided,” commented Ben Scott, 2022 UWA Fogarty Scholar.
UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholars are provided with $10,000 per annum to assist in university tuition, accommodation and general living expenses. They participate in a tailored leadership and enterprise program, academic mentoring, leadership opportunities, support for initiatives and they become valued members of the Scholars and Alumni network.
“By empowering and enriching our high performing students, we are encouraging them to shine, and use their vision and direction to enable positive change in society,” explained Caitlyn Fogarty-Embley, Executive Director of the Fogarty Foundation.
“We need innovative and inspiring leaders and businesses in WA, which is why the UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarships continue to be a key element of the Foundation’s work,” she said.
“We want our brightest students to call Western Australia home, where they can enjoy a world-class education and be inspired to lead, innovate, support and build the West Australian economy.”
Through the Leadership and Enterprise Program, the Foundation hopes to empower young people to be entrepreneurial creators. Many Scholars have started enterprises and not-for-profit organisations which the Foundation continues to support.
“The Scholars Enterprise Investment Program supports Scholars as they build their businesses, while enhancing WA-wide support for the next generation of enterprises, growing the number of jobs and diversity of businesses across WA and Australia,” Mrs Fogarty-Embley said.
Since 2004, the scholarships have educated and supported 176 outstanding young people who are now contributing to their communities, our state and our nation. The UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarship Program is one of Australia’s premier scholarship programs. You can read about some of the exceptional Scholars at fogartyfoundation.org.au.
Joshua Dunne joined the UWA Fogarty Scholarship Program in 2015, studying a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours). During his studies at UWA, Josh was passionate about his education and development, making the most of every opportunity. Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2018, Josh moved to Washington DC where he completed a Master of Security at Georgetown University.
Since his return, Josh has once again shown his dedication to leadership development, as well as his ability to positively influence those around him, joining us as a facilitator at this year’s Fogarty Futures Conference and InspirED. Read Josh’s inspiring letter to our UWA Fogarty Scholars.
An Open Letter to UWA Fogarty Scholars
Like every student lucky enough to benefit from the Fogarty Foundation’s extraordinary generosity, I vividly remember the feeling of my post-WACE summer bliss being interrupted by a phone call that, though brief in length, had a profound impact on my identity. Like so many others before and since, a one-minute conversation rewrote the subtitle following my name so indelibly that – thanks to four years’ worth of events – I’m sure I have enough “Joshua Dunne, Fogarty Scholar” labels, lanyards and badges to wallpaper my bedroom.
I am fortunate to be able to reflect upon that summer’s phone call far too frequently. How fortunate am I then, to have been able to re-live the experience when a caller I thought was a telemarketer from the eastern states introduced herself as a representative of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, informing me that my application for a Fulbright Scholarship to support my pursuit of a Master’s degree in the USA had been successful?
While separated in time, these two phone calls were anything but disconnected. My Fogarty Scholarship not only featured prominently in the written and interview portions of my Fulbright application, my four years spent engaging with and learning from the extraordinary community of scholars, professors, mentors and friends of which I was so privileged to be a member gave me a vision for my future studies that was simply non-existent prior to my time at UWA and would likely have remained so were it not for my connection with Fogarty. As much as I loathe the cliché, my Fogarty Scholarship was an education and an inspiration, two impacts that gave me the foundation from which to launch my journey to Washington DC to study at Georgetown University’s hallowed Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.
I would like to take this opportunity to share some thoughts that I hope might be of value to current and future scholars considering postgraduate study abroad, particularly in the United States. I am always hesitant to give advice to Fogarty Scholars, a group of students that have far more to teach me than I can possibly provide in the reverse, but if only by helping you avoid the mistakes I made in my postgraduate journey, I hope the following insights serve to guide you around what I see as potentially dangerous pitfalls on your path ahead.
First, there is no substitute for vision. No grade, no award, no character attribute nor any of the many skills you have surely accumulated will help you if, like a ship without a navigator, you find yourself outside Winthrop Hall, posing for posterity and Instagram in your cap, hood and gown without the faintest idea of what comes next – “all dressed up with nowhere to go”. Your vision need not come with a defined salary, location or job description. It need not be revolutionary or radical, or mirror the experience of your heroes or role models. It need not even be particularly specific. It must, however, be genuine. An authentic response to questions such as “what do I value?”, “what am I good at?” and “how can I help?” can provide you with the seed of an idea that might guide your future prospects. Take the time to develop those ideas – the more the better – and don’t be afraid to see where they lead.
Second, don’t underestimate the value of the ‘little skills’ that you’ve accumulated over the course of your secondary and tertiary education. At Georgetown, a 230-year-old Jesuit institution with some of the most rigorous academic standards you can imagine, I was surrounded by an extraordinary cohort of postgraduate students with what felt like an endless supply of original ideas, incredible ability and tireless work ethics. Inevitably however, what impeded them was not a lack of discipline or intellect, but low-level issues surrounding those skills that didn’t feature on their resumés. The ability to condense the thesis of a novel or paper into a half-page of well-constructed notes. The willingness to speak publicly or ask a concise, relevant question of an intimidating professor without anxiety or waffle. The expertise to find, cite and source two or more pieces of evidence that are in conflict, justify their disparity, and employ them convincingly in support of a broader argument. You wouldn’t expect to excel at a sport or a musical instrument without training, but too many students think they can succeed academically or professionally based on intellect or willpower alone. Take advantage of the opportunities you are given to practice these skills regularly and master them gradually – your postgraduate self will thank you.
Finally, be curious. I applied for Fulbright because I didn’t feel like I could study the world around me without experiencing it firsthand. In 2021, as legitimate questions are being asked of the ability of mainstream and social media alike to paint an unbiased image of our world and those of us inhabiting it, it is more important than ever to use your own judgement to identify the best opportunities to grow, learn and make an impact. Despite the effects of the pandemic, my two years in the USA saw me travel across much of the country: from Connecticut to Washington, Chicago to Nashville, Gettysburg to the Alamo. The predominant lesson I took away wasn’t any pearl of cultural wisdom that gives me an insight into the ‘essence of America’. Instead, it was how poorly Americans fit into any of the preconceived categories with which I was familiar. While it’s easy to label Southerners as rednecks, Northerners as uptight and everyone west of the Rockies a hippy, reality simply doesn’t conform to such lazy generalizations. To quote one of my favourite social scientists, “what lies at the core of our discipline is to realize that there exists as much, if not more diversity within any statistically relevant group as exists between them”. Embrace these differences – personally, professionally and academically – they make all three more fun.
To learn is to explore, and there are few better opportunities for exploration than those provided by Fulbright and prestigious international scholarships like it. If you had told me when I boarded my flight to the USA that the next two years would feature a once-in-a-century global pandemic, nation-wide riots and a violent election aftermath that saw an incensed mob form just beyond the doorstep of my DC apartment and launch a political assault on the seat of American democracy, not to mention a fair share of frustration, loneliness and personal tragedy, there’s a good chance I may have stayed home. However, to explore is to take risks and, despite the confluence of all of the above, I never once felt I stood to lose more by my Fulbright experience than the enormity of what I gained.
For those of you considering a similar postgraduate path, please don’t feel that you must do so alone. My high expectations of Fogarty Scholars have already been met by the members of the current crop who I encountered at this year’s Futures, but our abilities as individuals are inevitably outmatched by our collective wisdom as a community. Be true to your vision, develop your skillset and keep an open mind and you’ll be sure to navigate your application to an experience that will leave you profoundly richer for having had it.
My email is joshua@ajdunne.com. As always, let me know if I can help.
Best wishes,
Josh
The UWA Fogarty Scholars and Alumni enjoyed an evening of canapés and music on Thursday, as they celebrated another inspiring year of learning, leadership and collective accomplishment. InspirED is the final event of the year for the Leadership and Enterprise program where UWA executive and staff, past speakers and friends of the Scholarship Program are invited to see and celebrate the achievement s of the Scholars.
Here to Help – Perth’s Charity Band, founded by UWA Fogarty Scholar Michael Hooper, provided a warm welcome to guests including past and present Fogarty Scholars, Professor Amit Chakma, Vice Chancellor of UWA, Annie Fogarty, Executive Chairperson of the Fogarty Foundation and special guests.
Professor Amit Chakma spoke about the significance of the scholarship program and congratulated the Scholars and Alumni for their committed commitment to education, excellence and achieving wonderful things all over the world.
Fogarty Scholars Ellen Smith and Josh Peckover shared anecdotes about their recent adventures co-convening the Fogarty Futures Leadership Conference, while Luke Thomas shared his experiences working for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra. Guests were also inspired by the leadership efforts of Michael Hooper for creating Here to Help – Perth’s Charity Band, and Rachel Tantular as she spoke about her upcoming charity Indo-Pacific Traditional Music Concert.
Alexander van Hoek was announced as the 2021 recipient of the Jeremy Cheang Award. This award is presented to a Scholars to acknowledge their contribution to their chosen profession, the University and/or the wider community and to support them in their initiative. Alex received the award for his creation of Systematic, an aspiring not-for-profit initiative to help children foster a passion for STEM topics and skills.
Thank you to everyone who attended this InspirED event. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear from UWA Fogarty Scholars who are working towards and/or acting as leaders in our community and beyond.
UWA Fogarty Scholars participate in a range of programs, conversations and events to develop leadership skills and encourage enterprising mindsets.
On Thursday 23 September, the Foundation hosted an Innovation Panel with Danail Obreschkow, Astrophysicist and Head of the International Space Centre UWA, Olivia Humphrey, Founder and former CEO of Kanopy, and Brodie McCulloch, Founder of Spacecubed. The purpose was to encourage Scholars to have an enterprising mindset and see opportunities rather than barriers, learnings rather than failures and make the most of their experiences and connections.
Danail Obreschkow spoke about his journey, including his experiences at Oxford University and his love of Astrophysics. He encouraged the Scholars to take chances, fuel their minds with inspiration and learn from others through positive connections and conversations.
Olivia encouraged the Scholars to have a challenge mindset; that is, a mindset that encourages inspiration and excitement when faced with a challenge. She spoke about building strong networks and the importance of having enterprising friends and/or peers to workshop and develop business ideas.
Brodie shared his experiences as Founder and CEO of Spacecubed. He explained how the organisation was supporting entrepreneurs and innovators with enterprise skill development, peer support networks, innovation workshops and spaces to develop a business. He encouraged the group to try out their ideas, talk to people and make the most of assets like Bloom.
Many thanks to Conor McLaughlin, Fogarty Scholar and young entrepreneur, for moderating this inspiring panel.
The UWA Fogarty Scholars and Alumni had the wonderful opportunity to share a conversation with Iain Grandage, composer, conductor and Artistic Director of Perth Festival, at a recent Leadership Series event.
Iain is the first Perth-raised Artistic Director of the Festival in its 68-year history and spoke of how following his passion enabled him to work on the world stage.
Iain spoke with the Scholars about the arts, our community, Western Australia, Perth Festival, the celebration of stories, being connected, leadership and the importance of listening.
He shared his thoughts on leadership and whilst he had experienced many missteps throughout his career, he encouraged the students to always strive to enact positive change if (and when) they find themselves in a position to do so.
“Never presume you know. Always listen with open ears. That is where you will find the understanding and connection you need to move forward,” Iain said.
Iain is one of Australia’s most highly regarded collaborative artists, having won Helpmann Awards for his compositions for theatre, dance, opera, silent film and as a music director.
He has received Victorian Green Room Awards, the prestigious Sidney Myer Performance Arts Award for an individual and the APRA/AMC award for Vocal Work of the Year. He has curated the chamber music program for the Adelaide Festival and been the Artistic Director of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival.
Iain has been composer-in-residence with the WA Symphony Orchestra and has an extensive track record of collaboration with Indigenous artists across the country. He explained to the Scholars that he had always been excited about the possibilities inherent in being Perth Festival’s Artistic Director because of the ability of the arts to change perceptions – of people, places and our history.
Ten of the State’s highest achieving and most inspirational young people have accepted UWA Fogarty Scholarships, including this year’s Beazley Medallist, Josh Green (Christ Church Grammar School).
UWA Fogarty Scholarships offer the State’s brightest and most committed students a full scholarship for the entirety of their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Scholars are selected on their academic excellence and outstanding achievements in leadership, community involvement, enterprise, the arts and/or sport.
Winners of this year’s prestigious scholarships are Heather Bytheway (St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School), Ella Dickie (Mount Lawley Senior High School), Josh Green (CCGS), Isabelle Hamer (Presbyterian Ladies’ College), Jason Lu (CCGS), Ella Miels (PLC), Joshua Peckover (Mandurah Baptist College), Ellen Smith (All Saints’ College), Emma Tinley (Bunbury Senior High School) and Sam Wake (Scotch College).
“I applied to be a UWA Fogarty Scholar because I saw it as a way to join a group of passionate, inspired and driven people,” said Jason Lu, 2021 UWA Fogarty Scholar.
“I want a career where I’m working towards positive change in the world and I saw the community of Fogarty Scholars as a group of like-minded people, actively driving these changes,” he said.
“I also saw the leadership development program as an opportunity to develop the skills that will allow me to achieve this ambition.”
In addition to financial support, the Scholars participate in a tailored leadership program, academic mentoring, leadership opportunities, support for their initiatives and are part of the Scholars and Alumni network.
“Current Scholars refer to each other as being more like family than colleagues, and this chance to build strong relationships and connections that will last for many years, is an incredibly attractive element of the program,” said Ella Dickie, 2021 UWA Fogarty Scholar.
“I’m looking forward to challenging myself in the company of many inspirational figures and to hopefully draw on their great knowledge and experience,” she said.
Annie Fogarty AM, Executive Chairperson of the Fogarty Foundation said, “We believe that through empowering young people with potential, they will provide vision and direction to enable positive change to benefit the community.”
“We need people to lead – in education and in life – which is why the UWA Fogarty Scholarships continue to be a key element of the Foundation,” Mrs Fogarty said.
Through the Leadership and Enterprise Program, the Foundation hopes to empower young people to be problem solvers and entrepreneurial creators. Many Scholars have started enterprises and not-for-profit organisations which the Foundation supports. They have now established the Scholars Enterprise Investment Fund to help the Scholar’s enterprises grow the next generation of businesses.
“The Enterprise Investment Fund will support the Scholars and build their networks, while enhancing WA-wide support for the next generation of enterprises, growing the number of jobs and diversity of businesses across WA and Australia,” Mrs Fogarty said.
Since 2004, the scholarships have educated and supported 166 outstanding young people. It is one of Australia’s premier scholarship programs. You can read about some of the exceptional Scholars at fogartyfoundation.org.au.
In August 2019, the Fogarty family including the Fogarty Foundation announced the Scholars Enterprise Investment Program (‘SEIP’ or ‘the program’). The program will provide $15 million of investment capital over the foreseeable future to fund next generation, technology focused enterprises with UWA Fogarty Scholars and Alumni in leadership roles. Over time the Fogarty’s will partner and co-invest with leading industry and venture capital firms across Australia, which will not only provide capital, but additional expertise to create successful economic enterprises.
The Scholar’s Enterprise Investment Program will support the Scholars and their enterprises grow the next generation of businesses and attract and retain the relevant people and skills required for success. By co-investing with independent, established firms, we not only support our Scholars and build their networks, but also enhance WA-wide support for the next generation of enterprise’s and grow the number of jobs and the diversity of businesses across WA and Australia.
Since the smartphone was introduced in 2007, the application and proliferation of technology in our daily lives and ongoing disruption within industries has continued, now it’s a globally accepted fact that every industry, every business and every individual will experience high levels of integration, utility and efficiency resulting from technology, or they risk being disrupted and antiquated very quickly. This is true for states and countries as it is for companies. Don’t just rely on yesterday’s business models in traditional industries, invest for today and for tomorrow in the next generation of individuals and enterprises to motivate, educate and upskill your workforce to become globally competitive.
A confluence of factors have been gathering pace over the past few years, and now is the right time to launch SEIP. High profile venture backed ‘start ups’ have entered the mainstream (i.e. Uber), a global start up ecosystem filled with educators, incubators, accelerators, support networks, mentors and investors is growing and maturing, student (K-12 and HE) education programs have started teaching enterprise and globally competitive and ambitious individuals are pursuing enterprise and entrepreneurship as a legitimate pathway versus the traditional doctor / corporate route.
UWA Fogarty Scholarship Alumni, Dave Sherwood has been named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Social Entrepreneurs for 2019. The Forbes 30 Under 30 is a set of lists issued annually by Forbes magazine identifying the next generation of entrepreneurs, visionaries, and trailblazers.
Dave Sherwood completed a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry & Physics) as part of the UWA Fogarty Scholarship Program. During his time at UWA and inspired by his rural schooling experience at Bunbury Senior High School, Sherwood co-founded Teach Learn Grow, an initiative to enable rural and Indigenous students to reach their full potential.
As the 2013 Western Australian Rhodes Scholar, Sherwood relocated to Oxford University, during which time he co-founded Bibliotech, the ‘Spotify for textbooks’.
Bibliotech is a webapp providing students and universities with affordable online access to all the textbooks they need, at any time, on any device, without being limited by individual personal budgets. The idea behind Bibliotech was conceived by Sherwood, who realised that there was a gap in the e-reading market, with students having to buy physical textbooks for extortionate prices.
Over 30 major international universities like NYU and University of Oxford are now turning to the Bibliotech team to provide digital textbooks and eLearning software. Sherwood and fellow co-founder Daniel Engelke and Tao Mantaras have raised over $5.5 million in funding and work with publishers like Pearson, McGraw-Hill and Wiley.
The Fogarty Foundation were proud to welcome the 2020 UWA Fogarty Scholars to the program at the recent Welcome Breakfast. The event was an opportunity to meet and welcome the new Scholars and reconnect with existing Scholars, Alumni and key UWA members of faculty.
Annie Fogarty, Executive Chair of Fogarty Foundation, and Prof Simon Biggs, UWA Deputy Vice-Chancellor, formally welcomed all to the year, and in particular the 2020 Scholars.
Ten new scholarships were awarded to the State’s highest-achieving students to join the 2020 program. Scholars are selected based on academic excellence and outstanding achievements in leadership, community involvement, the arts, sport, and enterprise. They join a growing cohort of 158 Fogarty Scholars and Alumni.
This years scholars are Lachlan McDonald (Perth Modern School), Lucie O’Sullivan (Presbyterian Ladies College), Winifred Taylor-Williams (St Mary’s Anglican), Emma Bond (St Mary’s Anglican), Hannah Bowden (Georgiana Molloy), Rana Ibrahim (Perth Modern School), James Barton (Shenton College), Luke Osborne (Guildford Grammar), Patrick Morton (Lumen Christi), and Alexander van Hoek (Scotch College).
The scholarship program will offer even greater opportunities in 2020, with the introduction of the Scholars Enterprise Investment Program, a $15million investment program to fund next generation, technology focused enterprises led by UWA Fogarty Scholars and Alumni. This will support the Scholars and build their networks, while enhancing WA –wide support for the next generation of enterprises, growing the number of jobs and diversity of businesses across WA and Australia.
The Fogarty Foundation is proud to welcome the 2019 UWA Fogarty Scholars to the program. The UWA Fogarty Scholarship Program, a joint investment between the Fogarty Foundation and the University of Western Australia, is one of Australia’s premier programs, offering a generous scholarship for the entirety of an undergraduate degree, including honours and a further contribution towards postgraduate studies.
This year, 10 new scholarships were awarded to the State’s highest-achieving students. Scholars are selected based on academic excellence and outstanding achievements in leadership, community involvement, the arts or sport.
This years scholars are Benjamin Caulfield (Perth Modern School), Chelsea Francis (Methodist Ladies College), Elsa Fuentes-Hare (Melville Senior High), Eva Marsh (Presbyterian Ladies College), Caleb McKenna (Warwick Senior High School), Charlotte Owens (Methodist Ladies College), Henry Pemberton (Christ Church Grammar School), Pooja Ramesh (Perth Modern School), Racheline Tantular (Perth Modern School), and Zeke Tinley (Bunbury Senior High School).
The new scholars join a growing cohort of 148 Fogarty Scholars and Alumni, who continue to achieve outstanding results in academics, entrepreneurship’s and social endeavours. Many Fogarty Scholars have gone on to receive further scholarships including 5 Rhodes Scholars, 2 Sir John Monash Scholars, 2 Fullbright Scholars and 1 Westpac Future Leaders scholar. They have also gone on to create successful initiatives such as Bloom Lab, WASTV, Futuristic, Teach Learn Grow and Bibliotech.