Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the presentation of the Mick Young Scholarships at Mount Druitt TAFE campus. I was inspired by the moving personal account of one of the students, Philip Farrelly. Here is his speech:

I have been asked, on behalf of the scholarship recipients, to thank the Mick Young Scholarship Trust and the people behind the Trust for the opportunity they have given the students and the hard work and time they have put in.

For me, the obstacles and barriers to receiving an education can be summarised [as] moving a mountain.

It can be quite overwhelming but, by moving the mountain in small sections and using the right tools the final goal can be achieved.

Currently,

To help fund my studies, I have to work part-time 17 hours a week doing shift work.

For two nights a week I finish work at midnight. Getting home involves catching a train and then walking 45 minutes home at about 1 or 2 am.

I am lucky to get 3 or 4 hours sleep and then get up to go to TAFE.

The third night involves starting [work] at 8 pm Sunday night and often finishing 12 hours [later,] Monday morning.

For a while I was going straight from work to TAFE on the Monday morning with no sleep.

After finding myself falling asleep at the computer in class and waking up to find I had typed nonsense I considered dropping out of the course.

The financial circumstances were also difficult and I had to use my credit card to make up the difference between my earnings and expenses.

It is a challenge finding a balance between working and finding the time to complete studies to a reasonable standard.

[I found] moving the mountain to be overwhelming and completed the paperwork to withdraw from the course.

After receiving help from the staff at Mount Druitt TAFE and the teachers I was able to return to my studies.

What will I use the scholarship for?

I will use it for train fares and to buy some badly-needed textbooks.

How will the scholarship help me?

I will no longer have to use my credit card to make up the difference between earnings and expenses.

I will [now] be able to focus more on my studies.

There are also other intangible benefits to the scholarship.

One of [these] is recognition. For me the recognition is just as valuable as the monetary value of the scholarship.

Having somebody say “thank you” or expressing their appreciation for your time and effort can take less than a minute but the benefits are everlasting.

I would like to thank the teachers and staff at Mount Druitt TAFE. It is encouraging to see a friendly smile and to have them genuinely go out of their way to help.

No words can express the appreciation or describe how useful this scholarship will be.

Today you have heard one story, but sitting before you are 15 other scholarship recipients who all have their own stories to tell.