General News
26 February, 2023
Scholarships for two
EAST Loddon P12 dux Ciaran Gale and aspiring primary school teacher Brodie Welsh have been awarded Inglewood and District Community Bank tertiary scholarships. The pair this week started university - Inglewood’s Ciaran a science degree at Monash...
EAST Loddon P12 dux Ciaran Gale and aspiring primary school teacher Brodie Welsh have been awarded Inglewood and District Community Bank tertiary scholarships.
The pair this week started university - Inglewood’s Ciaran a science degree at Monash University and Brodie at La Trobe University Bendigo.
“Chemistry especially has always been incredibly fascinating to me,” Ciaran said.
“I’ll start the course and see what speciality areas open up.”
Brodie said he had been inspired to enter primary teaching by his prep and Year 1 teacher at East Loddon, Peter Vernon.
“He was a role model for me when I started school and what I learnt from Mr Vernon has stayed with me throughout primary and secondary school,” Brodie said.
And he is undaunted about entering a profession where men have been in the minority for decades.
A Victorian teacher union report in 2021 said male primary school teachers were a rarity, making up less than a quarter of the full-time workforce.
“I had a great role model and being a primary teacher will be a great opportunity to help other youngsters as they start school,” he said.
Brodie hopes that after graduating, he can return to teach in a country school.
Bank chairman Linda Younghusband said both Ciaran and Brodie were worthy recipients of the scholarships.
“We congratulate them on their achievements throughout secondary school and look forward to following their progress at university and perhaps one day seeing them in our local communities helping to make a difference.” Linda said the bank scholarships were each worth $10,000 over two years.
“Former recipients of the scholarships have told us that a community bank scholarship has been very important to them in following their dreams,” she said.
“We are delighted to continue supporting young people from the district as they head to university.”
The annual community bank scholarships have been awarded for more than a decade and support rural students in the first years of university study.