Great Scot - The Scotch Family Magazine - Issue 151 September 2017 GreatScot_Internal_Sept_2017_FA | Page 65

A positive influence on the lives of all Scotch boys One of the real joys of my role surrounds the notion of making things possible for people through others. At one level, the Scotch College Indigenous Scholarship Program has been making a real difference to the 21 indigenous students fortunate enough to have attended Scotch. At another level, I argue, the program has also made a profound difference to the lives of every boy who has attended Scotch since the program commenced in 2004. The Indigenous Scholarship Program ensures that during the most influential years of their lives, some 1800 Scotch boys will have had the opportunity to interact with, learn from, and develop friendships with indigenous students. It is interesting to note that it is estimated that only seven per cent of Australians know an indigenous person. To date, thanks to the generosity of our community, and the support of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation and the federal government, 17 students have graduated from Scotch with their VCE, and 10 have gone on to further education. All are now pursuing careers across a range of fields. Our intention is to support up to 10 indigenous students at Scotch at any one time. This year the program is supporting the educational journey of eight indigenous students. All but one of our current Indigenous Scholarship students hail from Victoria. Scotch first forged its relationship with Tiwi College in 1996. Close, regular contact in the years since then has resulted in a strong, positive connection between both communities. Tiwi College elders have identified a quality education as an essential element in the advancement of their youth. However, our indigenous students have originated not only from the Tiwi Islands; they have represented Aboriginal communities spread across the breadth of Australia – from the Kimberley, Arnhem Land, and Spencer Gulf, the West Cape region of Cape York Peninsula, the Gunditjmara, the Yorta Yorta and Gunai/Kurnai peoples of Victoria, the Wiradjuri of NSW, the Wangkatha of Western Australia, Torres Strait Islanders and the Palawi of Tasmania. The program currently supports seven full-time boarders, and one day student. Congratulations to our indigenous students from the Class of 2016: • Jhdara Jones – studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Melbourne University and living at Ormond College • Jy Simpkin – drafted to North Melbourne Football Club • Dion Johnstone – drafted to Melbourne Football Club • Zane Connors – deferred Business course at RMIT; working in construction this year •Orson King – deferred Sports Science course at Victoria University; working in Bairnsdale. Thank you for assisting us to establish a perpetual Indigenous Scholarship Fund, and our intention to support up to 10 indigenous students $6 M at Scotch at any one time. At July 2017, we were a third of the way towards achieving this goal. I hope you will join me in supporting the Scotch College Indigenous Scholarship Program, and that you will generously support the fundraising appeal to endow the program in perpetuity. For more information about this M project, and how you might support it, please contact the Director of Development, Tim Shearer, on [phone] or [email protected]; or visit www.scotch.vic.edu.au. TIM SHEARER – DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT $4 $2 M $2.2m LEFT TO RIGHT: TODD GARNER (YEAR10), LACHLAN JOHNSON (YEAR 10), JAMARRA UGLE-HAGAN (YEAR 9), JIMMY GADSDEN (YEAR 9), JOEL GARNER (YEAR 12), FLETCHER JOHNSTONE (YEAR 9), LEIWYN JONES (YEAR 10), PHILIP (PJ) CROCOMBE (YEAR 11), DR ROB SMITH , HEAD OF SCOTCH’S INDIGENOUS PROGRAM. www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot 63