Making a regular monthly donation to Swinburne is a positive, purposeful way you can amplify access and opportunities for students, while you simultaneously bolster important research efforts that hold the potential to positively reshape the world.
By committing to ongoing contributions, donors demonstrate and act decisively to reflect values around access and equity in tertiary education, innovation and an optimistic future focus. You enable scholarships and fellowships to be established and continue with surety, support financial aid programs that extend a lifeline to deserving students doing it tough.
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Your regular contributions empower pioneering research initiatives, including multi-disciplinary approaches, to address global challenges, from climate change to healthcare innovations. In this way, monthly donors actively participate in nurturing the next generation of research leaders and fuel discoveries that contribute to a brighter future.
Read our latest appeal and please consider making a donation today.
"Escaping from the Congo was just the beginning of my journey. I don’t want to think about where that journey may have ended if I hadn’t been supported by a scholarship." – Nadine, Bachelor of Nursing
Dear friend of Swinburne,
Looking around at the students on campus, it is easy to think they do not have a care in the world; watching them joke around with each other, move from class to class, grab a bite to eat with friends. But the truth behind it is that many have a difficult story to tell of how they got to university.
Just for a moment, imagine what it would be like living in uncertainty like this for years on end. Never knowing where the next day will take you, never knowing if you will be afforded the opportunities others around you take for granted.
Unfortunately, this is the reality for many of our students who have come from diverse backgrounds, looking for an opportunity to study at Swinburne whilst dealing with the uncertainty of how to afford tuition fees, books, resources, and basic life necessities such as accommodation, food, and transportation costs.
One of our students, Nadine has had to overcome extreme circumstances to get here.
'Growing up in the Congo was tough. I don’t remember much of it as we escaped to Kenya when I was five to avoid execution. But my mother and father fought for a better life for me and my six siblings.
We were awarded refugee status into Australia in 2015 but by then my mother was very sick with cancer. She always dreamed of a better life for me and my siblings, and I am so grateful to her and my father for granting this to us.'
Your support today through a gift today will help the next intake of students to have the opportunity to thrive, offering them financial assistance and encouraging them to succeed when the odds are stacked against them.
Each year Swinburne receives a significant number of applications from students like Nadine who are needing help to overcome hardship. Students who would otherwise be unable to accept their position and make their dreams a reality.
Nadine has had it tougher than many, fighting to survive, fighting to thrive. Sadly, Nadine’s mum is not here today to witness how Nadine and her siblings have made the most of the opportunities they have worked so hard for. She passed away in 2017 after losing her battle with cancer.
However, Nadine knows that her mum would be proud.
'My mum would cry if she could see me today. She would be so proud. My grandparents had to take her out of school when she was in grade two, so she was never able to learn to read or write. She’d be so proud to see me today, attending university. It’s something I think she would never have dreamed was possible.'
Please make a donation today to enable other students like Nadine to overcome diversity and strive for a better future.
'I don’t want to think about what I would have done without this scholarship. It helped me to buy the resources I needed to set myself up for university. Without it I never would have been able to afford to come.
I’ve worked hard to get where I am today. Relocating from Regional Victoria and leaving my family behind was hard enough, but when dad badly injured his back at work, I knew I would need to work even harder so that I could support myself. Being granted this scholarship has relieved that stress a little.'
Access Scholarships offer support to students like Nadine, helping to relieve the burden of financial stress and offering them every opportunity to thrive. And with her scholarship Nadine is doing just that.
'I’m not sure what the future holds for me, I want to go into a care role and help others.'
Your support with a gift today will give students like Nadine the help they need to thrive. Knowing there is someone supporting and encouraging them through their studies makes a real difference.
Scholarship support enables students of all backgrounds to overcome their situations and strive for a better future. With 100% of your donation going directly to support students like Nadine who need it the most. It is simple to make a difference.
Please donate today.
Yours sincerely,
Luke Bell
Director, Advancement
P.S. Access Scholarships offer support to students from all backgrounds who, despite the odds, are working hard to achieve great things. Your support with a donation today will help these bright minds to succeed.
