Scholarships give top students a healthy start

By Melissa Meehan
A YOUNG student from Montrose was presented with Tertiary Health Scholarships by Ranges Community Health Services to reward outstanding scholastic achievement on Friday.
Mayor Tim Heenan presented Tara Whitchelo along with three other students, all residents of the Shire of Yarra Ranges, with giant novelty cheques and a bunch of flowers.
The scholarships were made available through funds raised by the Ranges Opportunity Shop and funds received from the closure of the Lilydale Health Service.
Ranges Community Health Services’s CEO Karyn McPeake said that the scholarships were a prime example of reinvesting for the future and enhancing students’ capacity within the community.
She said the awards attracted applicants from all over the shire and the number of high quality applications received was impressive.
“It was no easy task selecting only four recipients out of the many high-quality applications,” Ms McPeake said.
“The successful recipients demonstrated outstanding scholastic achievements as well as being active participants within the community.”
As a result, two major awards, each worth $3000, and two encouragement awards, each worth $1000, were presented to the students.
Tara Whitchelo from Montrose was presented with a major award that she said would help her pay for textbooks and petrol money to get to and from university in Bundoora.
Tara has just begun her double degree at La Trobe University undertaking a bachelor of occcupational therapy and a bachelor of psychological science.
A member of the Shire of Yarra Ranges Services program called Young Leaders in 2007, Tara said she was able to use the program as an opportunity to discuss areas of concern in the local community.
She said her ambition was to work and assist people in the health sector of her local community.