The difference you can make – in the most challenging times Recipient of the Australian Library and Information Association Scholarship
Recipient of the CO2 Australia Regional Professionals Scholarship
Claire Sadler
Rachel Habermann
Master of Education (Teaching Librarianship)
Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management
2020 definitely impacted me in many ways, as it did everyone in our community. I work and live in Melbourne, so some of those challenges were exacerbated. I was working part time as a casual primary teacher before the pandemic struck and have not worked since April. I also felt isolated, as I live away from my family and was experiencing lockdown by myself. Studying in such a climate is definitely new to me! However, I persevered and did the best I could with what I had. My scholarship was an incredible gift for this year. I was able to use the funds to purchase a new laptop, which greatly increased the accessibility of my study, and I believe resulted in higher quality of work as I was able to utilise new software and graphics. Secondly, as I was not able to work for most of this year, my scholarship was a huge help financially to support myself day to day. Thank you so much for your assistance and scholarship – it has truly been a highlight of my year.
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2020 Donor Impact Report
I was stood down at all three of my casual jobs in March and was unemployed until June when the pub that I work at re-opened. My scholarship allowed me to continue my studies through the financial hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without this money I may not have had access to the resources necessary to continue my degree. If there was ever a year to be most thankful for such a generous scholarship – it is 2020. A lot of financial ups and downs have made me appreciate my access to education so much more and to have been afforded this scholarship in such a treacherous year is truly a blessing. This scholarship genuinely saved me and I could not be more grateful for this opportunity to continue learning and developing the skills I need to make a genuine change in this world.
