As part of a two-day tour of Mildura in late July, the RFDS Victoria Board, along with Chief Executive Scott Chapman, attended an afternoon tea at LaTrobe University’s Mildura campus to meet and greet last year’s Give Them Wings scholarship recipients.
The Flying Doctor Give Them Wings scholarship program was launched in 2012 to offer health care students from rural and remote Victoria support during their first year of study. In addition to financial aid, recipients also have the chance to join a Flying Doctor team for a day of work experience – either in the air or on the road.
In 2021, thanks to generous funding from Cooper Energy and the RFDS Bayside Auxiliary, there were six deserving recipients. All recipients attend LaTrobe University, with three at the Mildura campus and three at the Bendigo campus. As COVID-19 travel restrictions made an in-person meeting with these recipients impossible last year, a casual afternoon tea to finally and formally congratulate the students became a priority of the RFDS Victoria Board’s recent trip to Victoria’s Mallee region.
LaTrobe University graciously hosted this afternoon tea in the Student Hub of their Mildura campus. In attendance were all three 2021 scholarship recipients studying in Mildura: Scott Li, Samantha Miller and Jaquelyn Stalling.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nurse,” says Samantha Miller. “This scholarship means the world to me.”
2019 scholarship recipient, Emily Mills, also attended the intimate event, travelling north from her home in Donald, where she now runs her own community care business, called DCIRS.
In addition to meeting the scholarship recipients and learning more about their studies and career ambitions, this afternoon tea provided an opportunity for the Flying Doctor to meet members of the LaTrobe University team, who have been incredibly supportive of the Give Them Wings scholarship program.
“As a university with a number of rurally-based campuses, LaTrobe has understandably been the school of choice for many of our past scholarship recipients,” says Mr Chapman. “The team at the Mildura campus in particular has been a great support in ensuring all first-year health care students are aware of the Give Them Wings scholarship program, and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with the university as we seek to grow and expand the scholarship program in coming years.”
