Annual Scholarship
Appeal
Meet the Brookers
Abigail and Harrison hail from the NSW/Victoria border. Specifically, Barooga, just across the river from Cobram. Their journey is one familiar to many generations of Hildarians. They grew up on the family farm, in this case cereal and oil cropping, and St Hilda’s has become their home away from home while at uni. Harrison will soon graduate with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in infection and immunology, while Abigail is just beginning her Bachelor of Agriculture.
Harrison reflects that when he first arrived, the word, ‘Communitas’ had a very literal translation. But, as time has passed and he has experienced college friendships and connections he feels like the concept of Communitas and St Hilda’s as a place now mean the same thing in his mind. For Abigail, it’s a very tangible thing:
It’s being able to talk to anyone. Like, you’ve always got a spot at any table in the Dining Hall. Coming from a small community, knowing only Harrison, being able to make friends here has been so easy because everyone is in the same boat. But at the same time, everyone wants to have a little community and a little family here which is nice.
Both Harrison and Abigail are very clear on why a college experience is so valuable for students from regional and rural Australia. Harrison describes his first few weeks at uni as “crazy” and “overwhelming”. He talks about arriving in Melbourne from “a tiny, tiny rural town and a school of maybe just over 300 people” and suddenly having hundreds and even thousands of people around him. St Hilda’s has become a stepping stone where people who’ve either lived in Melbourne before or are figuring things out at the same time as him have been able to give him a bit of a leg up.
Along with their older brother, Abigail and Harrison are the first generation of their family to go to uni. While neither are certain of where they see themselves down the track, they are both excited about what the future holds. For Harrison, the most pressing decision will be what to do immediately following his undergraduate studies. He will likely pursue honors and he is definitely interested in exploring the research field. He’s particularly keen to be involved in things like antimicrobial research to help replace antibiotics.
While she still has a full degree in front of her, Abigail knows that she eventually wants to end up back on the family farm. But, first, she wants to really explore and research sustainable farming. She’s also keen to find a way to do some sort of work in the education space to help in bridging the gap between communities from metro and rural areas and help those in the city better understand farming areas. For Abigail, this has been one of the big revelations of moving to Melbourne:
There’s a lot of knowledge in small towns about things like farming. It’s not like it’s talked about a lot but everyone just kind of knows what it is, how it works. Coming to the city, I’ve had conversations with so many people that just don’t have the same level of understanding as people that have grown up around it and I’ve been shocked. People don’t necessarily know how much it actually takes to produce their food and that sort of thing. So, trying to sort of bridge that gap a little bit and build an understanding is something that I’m hoping to do.
Harrison and Abigail are very honest about why their scholarships have been critical in allowing them to dream. Both have worked hard to save money through various part time jobs. But, without their scholarships, both know uni life would be very different. Harrison knows that without his scholarship, College and full-time uni just wouldn’t have been possible. Instead, he believes he would have had to study part time so that he could work enough each week to cover all of the expenses like rent, utilities, groceries, etc. Abigail acknowledges that she would have looked to study somewhere local and just live at home. So, she’s very grateful to have been able to move to the city, meet new people and experience so many new things.
Having all three kids at uni at the same time, Harrison & Abigail say that it would have been impossible for their mum and dad to support all of them with the costs associated with living away from home for tertiary study – especially when relying on farm income that’s unpredictable.
So, not only have our scholarships taken a load off our shoulders, it’s taken a load off Mum & Dad’s shoulders as well.
In a sliding doors-style moment, the Brookers’ journey at St Hilda’s is being supported by two other siblings who called St Hilda’s home decades before them, Shayne and Robyn Hateley. Not only are Harrison and Abigail incredibly grateful to have the support of Shayne and Robyn, they both reflect on how special it’s been to create a connection with them. As Abigail so beautifully states:
It shows how small the world is. We’re from relatively similar areas. We’ve had very, very similar experiences of coming to uni from the middle of nowhere and getting thrown into it all. So, it’s really nice to have that support of someone who understands where you’ve been and where you’re going. It’s almost like we’ve shared a story.
Both siblings want people to know just how much impact their donations are going to have on the next generation of Hildarians. Harrison, he points directly to the impact this community has on someone moving out of home for the first time:
It’s the people. It’s wonderful. The four walls, the roof around me, a bed, wonderful, really, really good food every day is a massive benefit. But, realistically, it’s the people. It’s some of the best friends I’ve ever made. The best friendships that I genuinely don’t think you can have in any other environment are made at college. So, as much as the College does for you, I think it’s the people that actually make the College.
Abigail also reflects on how impactful the community has been on helping her make friends and gain confidence in her new environment. But, she also points to another massive impact that scholarship support has provided – extra motivation.
It’s made me want to study even harder, because I know that there’s no point like cruising through when I’ve got a scholarship. It’s made me want to push really hard to make sure that I’m using it to the best of my ability. That idea that someone else is also invested in what I’m doing is pretty cool.