Our Rising Stars

Sami Newnham

Sami Takes to the Air Former Summerland Credit Union Scholarship recipient, Sami Newnham talks about her time at SCU and her work with Katherine School of the Air. "It was an easy choice to study primary education at SCU, Lismore. I had heard great reviews about the program, it was my local university; and I was the successful recipient of the Summerland Credit Union Scholarship which ensured I didn't have a HECS debt at the end of my course and I could buy all the resources I needed for my studies.. Yes, SCU was smaller than other universities but it was bigger on providing personal opportunities, allowing me to get to know my lecturers and tutors on a personal basis and become friends with almost everyone in my year. Support was always just around the corner if I felt I was in need of help or just some guidance with my course. I was never just a number going through the motions of studying. I forged some life long friendships with people from all over Australia and also in my own backyard. There were lots of social events up at the Uni Bar that will forever be etched in my mind as some of the most enjoyed times at SCU. The subtropical gardens and grassy areas that surrounded the Lismore campus created a feeling of tranquility, so SCU was never a place I didn't want to visit. One of the highlights of my time at SCU was the opportunity to become a Student Ambassador. I earnt this role by working hard and earning my grades and also being outgoing in the SCU community. In this role I learnt skills in leadership, public speaking and had an insight into marketting and media. As a successful graduate, after four years of study, I decided to take my degree to the Top End of Australia. I applied and won a position teaching at Katherine School of the Air. It is a distance education school that services the stations and communities in the Top End of the Northern Territory and also NT kids who are travelling the world. In this role I have an opportunity to fly or travel by 4WD to visit the students in my class who live hundreds of kilometres away, but in Australia only unfortunately! I have been lucky enough to fly over Kakadu and travel through the gorgeous Victoria River region, west of Katherine. At KSA we are also on the cutting edge of satallite technology lesson deliverance which is very exciting. I have been here for three years and don't plan on leaving for a while. So my adventure which began at the Lismore SCU campus studying primary education has propelled me into a world I could not have imagined and would not change for quids."

Our Rising Stars
	Lynne Beames A positive contribution It has taken Lynne Beames six decades of life experience to find her calling, but she reckons that working closely with Indigenous communities is where her heart is.
	Moacir Palacios Scholarship makes dream a reality When 15-year-old Moacir Palacios fled Nicaragua five years ago to escape a home life of violence and poverty, he could never have imagined the path his life would take.
	Janine Kroemer Janine Kroemer is a Pitta Pitta girl of NW Qld raised on the southern coastlines of Australia. Janine says the journeys and time at Southern Cross Tweed Heads is an experience she will never forget.
	Jay Hooker Jay receives support for studies Determined Elanora-based student Jay Hooker is putting his scholarship to good use as he works to complete his studies at Southern Cross University's Tweed Gold Coast campus.
	Jessica Waldron Jessica wants to help others For Jessica Waldron, the idea of doing something meaningful to help others was the motivating factor in choosing to study a Bachelor of Nursing at Southern Cross University.
	Carleen Corrie When you are rebuilding your life from scratch, a helping hand along the way can make a world of difference and that’s how it was for Southern Cross University Bachelor of Social Sciences student Carleen Corrie.
	Inanna Shea At the age of 40, former Sydney and Blue Mountains resident Inanna Shea has finally found what she says will be her long-term home after moving to Lismore to study environmental science.