Impact of Giving: Partnering with the Country Education Foundation

“It’s very hard for me to express how grateful I am to receive support in the form of a scholarship. Paying for College completely by myself, it’s often extremely hard to keep up with my fees and general finances, so to be the beneficiary of someone else’s generosity is absolutely phenomenal and something I am extremely appreciative of. Without support from the Country Education Foundation Scholarship, there is no way that I would be able to do what I’m doing, and no way I would be able to take this opportunity at one of the best colleges in the world, and for that, I thank you so much.”

- Oscar Cheal, 2021 CEF Scholarship Recipient

The Country Education Foundation has partnered with St Andrew’s College, University of Sydney and the Thyne Reid Foundation since 2015 to provide scholarships in support of over 20 rural and regional students to date.

For those not familiar, The Country Education Foundation (CEF) assists young school leavers from rural and regional Australia who would otherwise not be able to pursue their tertiary aspirations due to financial and/or geographical circumstances and challenges. Rural communities establish their own local CEF foundations to identify candidates and assist them with modest financial support. CEF’s mission is “to promote and enable the further education, career and personal development opportunities for rural youth, through community-based encouragement and financial assistance. To help close the participation gap which exists between country and city students.”

The St Andrew’s College CEF Scholarship is intended to assist students with fee relief for College and other living expenses associated with leaving home to attend higher education in Sydney. Principal of St Andrew’s College, Wayne Erickson, said of the College’s partnership with Country Education Foundation:

“Our partnership with the Country Education Foundation gives the College a valuable perspective on the higher education aspirations and needs of students from rural, regional and remote NSW, and allows us to tap into a detailed local expertise and understanding about these students and their circumstances.”

For Aidan Wearne (Fr 2020), whose dream is to pursue a career in physiotherapy whilst playing Shute Shield Rugby for USYD and aim for further representative honours in Rugby, moving to Sydney was necessary to make this dream a reality. The costs of moving from a regional area to Sydney were expensive and commuting was not feasible given a full study workload and demands of the rugby training program. As Aidan puts it “The CEF grant to St Andrew’s has massively helped me to manage a lot of my financial issues in relation to moving and has allowed me to move to Sydney to try and pursue both my career and sporting aspirations.” Aidan has gone on to be an active member of St Andrew’s; he has participated in the Pre-Tertiary Mentoring Program, Intercollegiate Sport, and was a member of the Pastoral Care Team and Student COVID Response Team and in 2022 is taking on the Honorary Assistant Treasurer role on the House Committee.

For Lydia Munro (Fr 2020), the CEF scholarship made it possible to study a Bachelor of Business/ Bachelor of Law at the University of Technology, Sydney. Of her time at College, Lydia said it has “… been unbelievably fun, very special and honestly irreplaceable. I am well aware that without this scholarship I wouldn’t be able to call myself an Androvian and I will forever be grateful for the financial support to help me be here.”

Other recipients of the CEF Scholarships have gone on to become school teachers, architects, lawyers, accountants, nurses and engineers after university and College. We are very proud at St Andrew’s College to be able to continue to partner with the Country Education Foundation to assist students take up these opportunities and realise their potential.