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Charles Perkins scholarship awarded to UWA student
High Commissioner Menna Rawlings, UWA graduate Aurora Milroy, fellow scholarship recipient Jared Field and Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Image supplied
supplied by UWA 12 September 2015
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raduate Aurora Milroy, from The University of Western Australia’s School of Indigenous Studies, is one of three Australians to receive a prestigious 2015 UK Chevening/ Charlie Perkins Scholarship, to complete a Masters degree at Oxford University. Ms Milroy will join her cousin Jessyca Hutchens, also a UWA graduate, who is on a Charlie Perkins Scholarship studying Fine Art at Oxford University. Valued at $75,000 per year, the scholarships assist Indigenous Australians, recognised as potential future leaders, in pursuing postgraduate studies at either Oxford or Cambridge universities. Ms Milroy, 25, of South
Fremantle, is a UWA graduate with First Class Honours in both Arts and Law. The scholarship was presented to her recently by High Commissioner Menna Rawlings at a ceremony held at the British High Commissioner’s residence, where Ms Milroy had the opportunity to meet Prime Minister Tony Abbott. A descendent of the Palyku people, Ms Milroy said she selected Oxford University for its renowned Masters Degree in Public Policy. “The course has a strong focus on developing analytical and critical skills for public policy understanding, implementation and delivery,” she said. “I have had a lifelong dream of studying at Oxford and I’m incredibly grateful to the School of Indigenous Studies for all their support in helping me achieve this.
“I hope to further develop my skills at Oxford University so I can help make positive changes to Aboriginal and social policy in Australia.” Ms Milroy’s achievement will add to add to her successful academic record, having received several prizes during her undergraduate study at UWA including the 2014 Neville Bonner Memorial Scholarship, the 2013 Lillian Harris Prize and the 2012 Lexis Nexis Prize in Law. The Charlie Perkins scholarships were established in 2009 in memory of one of the first Indigenous Australian males to graduate from university, Dr Charlie Perkins AO. The UK Government’s Chevening Scholarship Scheme has since partnered with the Charlie Perkins Scholarship.
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