Social impact scholarship students star in 2024
In 2025 the Centre for Social Impact is offering over $110,000 worth of scholarships to students pursuing social impact studies at our four partner universities. In 2024 we were proud to have provided 21 scholarships to students to pursue their passion for creating positive change, and have been inspired to see how they have applied their learnings already.
For our scholarship recipients, studying social impact has made a significant difference in their journey to achieve change. These emerging leaders have applied their unique life experiences to their studies and drawn on their passion as they gained a deeper understanding of how to shape a better future. While they draw from their diverse backgrounds and their paths have taken them in separate directions, we are delighted to see them all developing careers with deep social purpose.
Taking the road less travelled to greater social impact
Stephen Svercheck ’s (Graduate Certificate in Social Impact, Flinders University) journey working with young people has taken him to South Australia, via the less travelled path of Africa and Korea. Stephen worked in a variety of social impact programs in Zambia, including the GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) program which empowers young females to take on leadership roles in their community. In South Korea Stephen worked as a refugee mentor, helping young people displaced by the ravages of conflict and oppression.
Now Stephen is continuing the work of empowering and supporting young people while building his knowledge of social impact. He aims to continue applying his social impact studies to projects that improve communities by improving the rights and lives of children.
While it was Stephen’s international work that first drove him to making a difference, Kylie Penehoe (MBAx Social Impact, UNSW) drew her inspiration from closer to home. The Wonnarua and Wiradjuri woman recognised the elements of social impact and responsibility in the work of her family and elders in her community.
Guided by the strength and advocacy of the family that came before her, Kylie now passes on that guidance to the next generation in her work establishing culturally appropriate sports programs that lead children and young people down pathways of employment, training and education. The scholarship allowed her to continue developing her knowledge and apply it to her work while also being a mother of three.
For Victoria Williams (Graduate Certificate in Social Impact, UWA), developing her skills in leadership, systems thinking, demonstrating social impact and financing social impact meant that she could continue to drive positive change through her career in First Nations justice and legal support. After witnessing first-hand children becoming entrenched in the criminal justice system for crimes of poverty, she has worked tirelessly to enact systemic change and develop social impact programs that can make a real difference. This scholarship provided Victoria with confirmation that she was on the right path. “I see it as recognition of not only what I have done so far, but my potential to do even more,” she says.
Leading for change through social impact
Beth Garwood’s (Graduate Certificate in Social Impact, Flinders University) journey to studying social impact was far from direct. Like Victoria, Beth saw the effects of disadvantage working as a police officer in Tennant Creek, a remote community in central Northern Territory. While passionately dedicated to their work, Beth neglected their own health and self care, leading to a severe mental health crisis.
Now leading the way as a change-maker in the mental health space, Beth is a living example of rejecting the stigma around mental illness and advocating from a position of strength to raise awareness and promote early help-seeking. “No matter what adversity you face, everyone can find the tools and support they need,” Beth says. Beth’s studies in social impact studies help them to understand the work that is needed to achieve change, and how to help people grow their resilience.
It is this commitment to deep social impact that ties all of our scholarship recipients together, and Jennifer King (Master in Social Impact, Swinburne University) is no different. Her journey began as a child growing up in Far North Queensland seeing first-hand the impact that humans were having on the natural environment. After a successful career in financial services Jennifer was driven to apply her knowledge to areas of greater need.
Initially motivated to improve corporate social responsibility towards positive impact, Jennifer now works as a Senior Sustainability and Climate Change analyst, helping communities build their social resilience against the effects of climate change. act equipping communities with social resilience to cope with the impacts of climate change. The CSI scholarship allowed Jennifer to work effectively, raise a family and continue her studies to become a thought-leader in her space.
From the red centre of Australia to the streets of South Korea, guided by their elders or inspired by young people, we are so inspired by the journeys of all of the change-makers dedicated to social impact that were awarded a scholarship in 2024. We can’t wait to see where they go next, and who else will be standing alongside them as we continue to support future recipients.