FREEMASONS in Swan Hill are kickstarting four high school graduates’ journey into university with scholarships of $5000.
For their outstanding academic achievements and their involvement in the community, the Jodie Sharam Knox Memorial Tertiary Scholarship was presented at the Swan Hill Lodge on Wednesday.
The four recipients were selected from secondary schools in Swan Hill and other towns in North-west Victoria but are all travelling out of their communities to start their higher education.
Swan Hill Secondary College’s Wynta Mitchell and Zoe Steicke, Mary MacKillop College’s Emily Free and Cohuna Secondary College’s Carolyn Fergusson are this year’s scholarship recipients.
All four students have received school awards for their academic achievements and have all volunteered or have gotten involved in community activities.
Zoe, dux of Swan Hill Secondary College, is leaving Swan Hill to study medicine at Charles Sturt University after going through the arduous application process and passing the clinical aptitude test known as UCAT.
She said she felt honoured to be receiving the award.
“I’m just so grateful for how generous the freemasons are and this will really help me start my education.
“My brother actually received this award eight years ago. It’s just helped him so much.”
The scholarships will help fund anything from books to student accommodation.
Right worship brother James Thompson said that every year since the scholarship has been running in Swan Hill, the reception has been getting better each year.
“This year, we’ve had a very good response again, and we have gotten many candidates. We had to choose four out of 11, but it was a good group of young people who’ve applied for the scholarship,” Mr Thompson said.
“The scholarship has grown over the last five years because our funds have increased, and so has the support from the foundation as well. It’s only been two years since we’ve been giving out $5000 scholarships, but before that they used to go out for $2000.”
The Freemasons in Victoria have been providing scholarships to bright-minded secondary school student for 36 years The Jodie Sharam Knox Memorial Tertiary Scholarship was once known as The Tertiary Scholarship and was instituted by the Freemasons lodge in Tresco.
It was renamed to honour a recipient’s passing in 2002.
Swan Hill Mayor Stuart King congratulated the students and recalled receiving the award as a student.
“I go back far enough to be in school at the same time as Jodie and I am a past recipient of one of the lodge awards, so I testify that these awards are very helpful financially,” Cr King said.
“It helped me obtain my bachelor of engineering degree.
“We can only hope that some of them (the students) come back to their local communities to bring back some of what they’ve learnt back here,” he said.
Nationals leader Peter Walsh also congratulated the recipients.
“It’s a great opportunity to help assist their education,” Mr Walsh said.
Freemasons Foundation Victoria director Rodney Lavin said he had high hopes for the graduates’ future endeavours.
“One day, I have no doubt that you four young ladies will travel the world you’ll be in Rome, London or New York,” Mr Lavin said at the awards ceremony.
“And you’ll see probably an older fellow probably balding, probably with glasses on, and he might be wearing square and compass, which is our symbol for Freemasons.”
“Just tap them on the shoulder and say, ‘Thank you, in 2024 I was given a scholarship by the Swan Hill Freemasons and it’s made me who I am today.’”
