Scholarships skyrocket at Staughton College.

“Work hard and never give up, and always ask for help. There are opportunities out there which can be quite life changing and create endless opportunities.”

Julie has been a Wellbeing Officer at Staughton College for 16 years and always encourages young people to work hard towards their dreams. She is part of the dedicated wellbeing team identifying talented students for Western Chances’ scholarships. 

“We often were granted two or three scholarships per year. Last year however, things changed at Staughton College.”

Julie was eager to create more opportunities to help her students and with the help of Western Chances’ program manager, Anne Connors, she was able to create a positive change. After Anne came and spoke at the school, the Principal of Staughton College, David Lord, was inspired.

“He introduced the idea of teachers identifying students with a talent through our weekly sub- school meetings and encouraged more teachers to nominate. Our number of successful students rose from three in 2018 to 21 in 2019 which was a great achievement for the College.”

Julie has also loved seeing other developments in the school as the environment and culture continues to grow.

“When I first commenced at Staughton it had a very Anglicised student population. It’s been great watching the school community change over time and seeing the school embrace the different cultures we have among our students today.”

What she loves most about her work is creating an outlet for young people to chat about what is troubling them: “I have always loved helping people, particularly young people. I also find working with them helps keep me young in my thoughts and ideas about different topics.”

Julie calls on and encourages everyone who has a student they think worthy of a scholarship to apply, as our scholarships can support young people through secondary school and on to university.

“Not only does the scholarship provide a yearly amount which can be spent on books/internet/Myki/laptops etc. all the things students need, but it also opens up other opportunities.” 

“Some of our students have had free tutoring through the Institute for Enquiring Minds, attended the Trinity College Young Leaders Program, received a Mary Jane Lewis Scholarship and we have two students attending the McWhirter Foundation conference this year.”