Living rurally comes at a cost and West Australians have long grappled with vast distances. With limited opportunities in rural WA, many have no choice but to move to the city for their university education.
Hundreds of kilometres away from home, some get homesick, feel socially isolated and lack their customary support networks. On top of this, they face the added financial burden of affordable accommodation, which is now compounded by a rental crisis. Understandably, the decision to move away from their rural town for educational purposes is difficult for many people but necessary to achieve their educational aspirations.
Our Vision
The Home Away From Home Scholarship gives first year Health Sciences students from a rural background the home they need; a home that comes with the support required to flourish and succeed and become the health professionals of the future.
The Home Away From Home Scholarship will:
- Give students in financial need a scholarship of $15,000 each year towards accommodation on campus for the duration of their degree
- Provide an immersive university experience residing on-campus at Curtin Perth which includes pastoral care and access to a suite of wraparound services, academic programs, social events and more
Kai-Anna Prendergast
As a country student from the South West, moving away from home is a very daunting prospect. Going to university means that I am going to have to leave my family and friends, as well as support myself in a new city that’s a four-hour drive away from home but by being awarded this scholarship, I am able to pursue my dreams of becoming a doctor and studying medicine at the Curtin Medical School.
Getting to this point has been a long and challenging journey and I expect that it will be both a demanding but rewarding experience throughout my time at medical school. With this scholarship, my journey will be made significantly easier as I will be able to direct more of my focus towards my studies without so much worry about my accommodation costs.
Monique Delaporte
My name is Monique Delaporte and I have relocated from the small town of Kirup, three hours south of Perth where I grew up on a 100-acre hobby farm.
I’m the first in my family to attend university, an opportunity that comes with privilege but also sacrifice. With all of my family living in the southwest, I’m supporting myself independently and financially over the next four years, particularly with my younger brother also attending Harvey Agricultural Boarding school, my parents are not in a position to assist with required costs – I’m so grateful to be the recipient of this generous scholarship as this takes some of the financial pressure off me and my parents.
I have found that as a student coming from a rural area with no family in Perth and the current rental crisis, the option for me to live off campus did not seem possible. This scholarship has opened the door for me to be able to live on campus and given me the opportunity to show my younger members of my extended family that university is possible with the help of scholarships like yours.
Why the scholarship is so important
“Health inequity in rural and remote locations is a longstanding problem. It is simply not right that people living in country locations do not have access to the same high-quality health service that people in cities enjoy. Building a sustainable rural and remote health workforce is key to reducing health inequities.
We know that people from country areas, who undertake health professions training, are more likely to return to rural and remote locations once they graduate. Increasing the number of rural and remote students undertaking health sciences degrees, therefore, is an important initiative. Together we really can make rural and remote health inequity a thing of the past.”
Professor Timothy Carey
Chair of Country Health Research and Innovation
Get in touch
Join us in our quest to empower rural students to become the health professionals that are so urgently needed in WA. To support a rural student with a $15,000 scholarship each year for 4 years, please get in touch with us via: