Despite all the challenges that COVID-19 caused, University of Southern Queensland student Caitlyn Burgess excelled in her first semester of study, thanks in part to the university’s Become Rewarded Scholarships.
The 18-year-old, who is studying Film, Television and Radio, was offered a Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship, valued up to $20,000, before finishing at Emmaus College last year.
“The scholarship definitely made a positive impact on my studies and made my first semester at university a whole lot easier,” Ms Burgess said.
“It gave me peace of mind and financial security, as well as extra motivation to strive to do well.”
The scholarship could not have come at a better time for Ms Burgess as she embarked on her degree at a time when students were studying off campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Studying from her home in Jimboomba instead of on campus at Springfield, she purchased a new laptop which allowed her to embrace the online learning.
“I already knew USQ was well equipped for online study having competed two of the university’s Head Start courses online while I was in school,” she said.
“The new laptop I bought using some of the scholarship fund made it even easier to study from home.
“Despite COVID-19 ending classes on campus in first semester, I am very thankful I was still able to get to know my teaching staff, meet new friends and perform well in all my subjects.”
The Become Rewarded Scholarships are back for 2020 with three scholarship packages available to high-achieving students who place USQ as their first preference on their QTAC applications and meet the qualifying results.
School leavers who achieve an ATAR 97 or above will automatically receive a scholarship valued up to $29,000, ATAR 88 or above a scholarship valued up to $20,000 and ATAR 84 or above a scholarship valued up to $6000.
Find more information about the scholarships and USQ at www.usq.edu.au/scholarships.
