Tas Girls Win HMEF Scholarships

By Tasmanian Times

Posted on 22 June 2022

Media release – Harding Miller Education Foundation, 22 June 2022

TASMANIAN SCHOOL GIRLS RECEIVE $20,000 SCHOLARSHIPS

Four female students from Tasmania are recipients of a lifechanging scholarship worth more than $20,000 to help them stay, and excel, in school.

The scholarships are awarded to high potential girls, who are experiencing low socio-economic circumstances, through the .

Executive Director Cara Varian says the Foundation’s scholarships provide the girls with a new laptop, high speed internet connections, tutoring, career guidance and support to help cover the costs of uniforms, books and school expenses.

“Where these young women have faced barriers, we are offering them a pathway through school and also potentially to university,” Ms Varian said.

“These students have the potential to become leaders in their fields and we hope that the scholarship gives them the support they need to understand and achieve that potential.”

Hser Gay Paw from Ogilvie High School in Hobart is one of the successful scholarship winners, and said that it will offer real, tangible help. A list of the successful students from Tasmania is included below.

“I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and came to Australia at 2015. My family are Karen people from Burma. My parents didn’t get much schooling when they were young, but they are really passionate about my siblings and I getting an education. I started school in Australia halfway through Grade Two. I didn’t understand anything and started learning to read halfway through Grade Three,” Hser said.

“I need help to buy a laptop because my family can’t afford it. School is very important to me and I want to get better at my subjects. I really want to go to university and get my dream career of being a Forensic Scientist. This is because I am really interested in detective stuff – it is solving a problem using science.”

Ms Varian said that Hser is one of 162 scholarships winners across Australia this year.

Numerous studies show education can be a key to breaking cycles of disadvantage, with some even showing that for every year a young woman stays in school, she can increase her potential future income by 25 per cent.

“Breaking barriers is what drives us at the Harding Miller Foundation, with some 800 young women having been given a scholarship since we started offering them in 2016,” Ms Varian said.

“We’re pleased and proud to support these talented young women. We really want to encourage them to really believe in themselves and know they are capable of anything they put their minds to.”

Ms Varian said applications will soon open for the next round of scholarships, and encouraged girls from Year 8 who think they might qualify, to consider applying.

“If you’re a girl in Year 8, who thinks that your lack of computer, internet or mentoring is holding you back from success, we’d love to hear from you,” Ms Varian said.

“And of course we would love to hear from more generous donors who can help us fund this program and the wonderful outcomes it is driving for young women.”

Applications for scholarships for 2023 will open from 13 July and close on 14 September 2022.

Scholarship winners in Tasmania