The Charlie Perkins Scholarship Trust is pleased to announce the 2020 Charlie Perkins Scholars.
Left to right: Dawn Lewis, Audrey McInnerney and Allen Roberts.
This year's Scholars are three Indigenous Australians who have been accepted for postgraduate study at Oxford and Cambridge - Dawn Lewis, Audrey McInnerney and Allen Roberts.
This year's Scholarships are jointly supported by the Australian Government, the British Government through the Chevening program, the Cambridge Commonwealth, European & International Trust, Cambridge Australia Scholarships and Saïd Business School at Oxford. Dawn Lewis, a Woolwonga woman, has been accepted into a Masters of Archaeological Science at Keble College, Oxford. Dawn intends to focus her career on Indigenous genomic and bioethics in Australia. She is currently in her research-based thesis year of a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of New England. At the same time, Dawn has worked as a Junior Operations Officer for the NSW Environment Protection Authority at the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. Audrey McInnerney is a Wiradjuri woman who will undertake an MPhil in Biological Science (Plant Sciences) at Darwin College, Cambridge. Audrey grew up on Barunggum land in Queensland. In 2018 she graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Science in First Class Honours, majoring in plant science. Audrey is currently undertaking research in the Integrative Legume Research Group, within the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, also at UQ. She believes her research has the potential to contribute positively to agricultural productivity through identification of factor and pathways which may be manipulated to enhance agriculturally relevant plant traits. Allen Roberts, a Yorta Yorta man, has been accepted into the MBA program at Saïd Business School, Oxford. Allen graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics & Criminology. He has since worked in the financial and consultancy sectors and is currently Head of Economic Development at First Australians Capital. Allen has received multiple awards through his work, including Local Hero of Westpac in 2014 and 2015, and the 2016 BankWest Victoria Innovation Award. His goal is to return to Australia to advance the ecosystem of vibrant, socially aware and sustainable Indigenous businesses. The Scholarships are designed to support Indigenous Australians who have the potential to become leaders in their field of study and in their communities, and are awarded on the basis of academic merit. Two out of three of the recipients were participants on the Aurora Indigenous Scholars International Study Tour, which provides high achieving Indigenous students the opportunity to gain insight into the experience of undertaking postgraduate study at premier institutions abroad and generates a natural pipeline of potential scholarship applicants. |