World Gratitude Day

Thank You

At Curtin, we are thankful to be part of a community passionate about delivering a world class education. Education – and the opportunities it offers – is the key to building a fairer, kinder, smarter world.
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We are deeply grateful to our donors, partners, allies and friends. Their commitment and support enable us to focus on what we do best; harness the power of education to make tomorrow better.

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Aldan Clinch had always dreamed of attending university but, with his life dominated by regular stints in prison, this often seemed unattainable. In 2020, while incarcerated at Casuarina Prison, Aldan decided to pursue his long-held goal. He enrolled in Curtin’s Indigenous Tertiary Enabling Course (ITEC) and quickly began to thrive.

With the unwavering support of tutor, Narelle Guest, Aldan successfully completed his course. He then enrolled in Environmental Science with plans to combine his degree with his cultural knowledge to care for Country.

Donor supports students to shape the world

Donor supports students to shape the world

As a tutor at Curtin for more than three decades, planning lawyer Denis McLeod was well placed to shape some of the state’s best and brightest planning minds. Keen to encourage scholarship and critical thinking in the area of planning law, he generously established the McLeod’s Prize in Planning Law.

The prize, awarded annually to high-achieving students, has supported many young people in their studies and encouraged them to pursue critical thinking and excellence in their planning careers.

Actuarial scientist connects research to life purpose: community service

Actuarial scientist connects research to life purpose: community service

Whether she is conducting research or volunteering in the community, Toto Olita has remained truthful to her life aspiration to use her skills, experience and passion to improve the welfare of others.

As a global student and citizen, Olita started her tertiary journey in Kenya, obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science. It is here where her passion for supporting her community blossomed into a dream of finding sustainable solutions for large global issues.

Students at heart: WASM alum invests in future students

Students at heart: WASM alum invests in future students

With a strong appreciation and respect for Country and the mining and resources sector, Chris is passionate about positive student experience and cultivating a culture where hands on practical experience wins hands down.

Committed to ensuring a new generation have the same opportunities to break into the industry, Chris and the Neometals team have thrown their support behind a range of Science and Engineering scholarship programs.

Empowering the teachers of tomorrow: How our donors are making an impact

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Actuarial scientist connects research to life purpose: community service

Whether she is conducting research or volunteering in the community, Toto Olita has remained truthful to her life aspiration to use her skills, experience and passion to improve the welfare of others.

Born in a small country town that borders Kenya and Uganda, Olita credits her grandmother for emphasizing the importance of higher education and the value educated women can have in a community.

‘My Tata Teresa placed the greatest value on education, which resulted in most of her children making a significant contribution to Kenya and the world. Even though she did not receive a formal education, she would advise us to do well at school and to become good citizens.’

As a global student and citizen, Olita started her tertiary journey at Dedan Kimathi University in Kenya, obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science. It is here where her passion for supporting her community blossomed into a dream of finding sustainable solutions for large global issues.

‘Through my work, I am committed to carrying on my Tata’s legacy and assisting the marginalized members of our community. In the world, I believe we are all connected, and the challenges we face demand collective action.’

In 2014, Olita was awarded a merit-based scholarship at Curtin to undertake her Masters, where she deepened her educational exploration of how she could be part of solving one of the most significant global issues, homelessness. Her thesis delved into the rise of housing prices and the impact on the homelessness crisis in WA.

‘As a researcher, I work collaboratively with other stakeholders and use data analytics to tackle real-life problems. I am confident that inquiry, discovery and re-evaluation of existing and new concepts will contribute to an existing body of knowledge and produce innovative ideas to bring about a better tomorrow.’

After conducting her thesis research, Olita continued to enmesh herself within her new community of WA, identifying where she could help advocate for inclusion, fairness, community empowerment, and sustainable development. Having attributed her time in university to helping transform her perspective on life, Olita started to support scholarship funds to enable future students to have the same educational opportunity that she was afforded at Curtin.

‘As I read the student’s stories, I realized that we are all connected regardless of our backgrounds. Their stories give me hope to face life knowing that whatever contribution we make, however little, inspires others to join in and be part of the greater good. This inspiration, coupled with the values of John Curtin of leadership, vision and community service, encouraged me to be part of the story. Their faith, courage, commitment, joy, struggle, pain and loss, among other aspects, have challenged me to share my story through the way I live and how I treat everyone I meet.’

Over the past six years, Olita has supported scholarships dedicated to ensuring students are afforded the same opportunity to expand their impact on the community by increasing their education as she was.

‘In my encounter with people from different generations, races, beliefs and cultures, I realized that there are many lessons to learn from every person and event in our lives. Once we take time and listen to each other, we gain the courage to face life bravely and undeterred, knowing that we can offer something to this world. ‘

While she continues her work at Curtin’s Centre for Crop and Disease Management, Olita and her team are exploring innovative ideas that could help another global issue, food security, via crop health technology, supported by the Curtin Ignition Program. Outside work, she continues to follow in her family’s strong footsteps of service by volunteering with the Emmanuel Centre for people living with disabilities and offering wellness workshops and mental health first aid support at Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre and Warnbro High School.

When asked what encourages the belief that tomorrow can be better, Olita shared:

‘I believe we all have significance in this beautiful world. We are blessed with unique gifts and talents. Expressing our gifts and talents contributes to a cause greater than us. The purpose of our lives is something magnificent that we have to discover and live by. For me, it is all about serving humanity.’

Students at heart: WASM alum invests in future students

Thanks to his memorable and practical student experience at Curtin’s WA School of Mines (WASM), Neometals Managing Director and CEO, Christopher Reed, is committed to supporting WA’s future engineering and mining leaders.

With a strong appreciation and respect for Country and the mining and resources sector, Chris is passionate about positive student experience and cultivating a culture where practical experience wins hands down.

Living and breathing the industry in Kalgoorlie not only gave Chris his strong foundations, but it also proved vital in cementing his interest in mining.
“I will never forget my WASM experience. WASM gave me a much more holistic understanding of running a mining company,’’ he said.

“Thanks to my education I have a strong appreciation for having people from industry teach students, shape curriculum and give practical on-site experiences.
“Evidence of this wonderful experience is the fact I am still in regular contact with and have done business with many in my cohort.”

As one of those brilliant minds stepping through the WASM doors more than 20 years ago, Chris has a unique understanding of mineral economics and the world around him.

Chris and the neometals team

Committed to ensuring a new generation have the same opportunities to break into the industry, Chris and the Neometals team have taken to supporting future students through scholarships.

The Peter Collins Scholarship, for third year Bachelor of Science students in Applied Geology, honours his former and much-loved Curtin lecturer Dr Peter Collins, who was pivotal in inspiring Chris to help others entering the industry.

Peter Collins Scholarship recipient Cameron Hannigan said the scholarship has helped him pursue his career goals and afforded him the opportunity to study away from home.

“I’m now enjoying life in Kalgoorlie very much. I am involved with the Railways Football Club and have also attended most of the industry nights that companies have put on throughout the semester.”

Cameron had an interest in planets and the Earth from a young age, but it wasn’t until Year 12 that he learned about geologists in his Earth and Environmental Science course, illuminated a career opportunity that linked up to his interests.

“It was here that I discovered my love for geology, which led me to study Applied Geology at Curtin, and then Mining Geology at WASM.

“The thought of discovering things no one has ever seen before excites me and after I graduate, I wish to pursue a career in mining geology and do a graduate program with a mining company to gain valuable experience at different mine sites,’’ he said.

Beyond the world of science and engineering, and through his time working in various communities in the resources sector, Chris was motivated to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women through Curtin’s Moorditj Yorga Scholarship.

Meaning ‘strong woman’ in the Nyungar language of WA’s Southwest, Moorditj Yorga are seen as the bedrock of their families and communities; however, many mature-aged women have considered the promise of higher education to be beyond their reach.

Through the MYS Program, and thanks to donors like Chris and Neometals, Moorditj women have an opportunity to overcome social and economic inequity by attaining a university degree at Curtin.

Introduced to the program by former Neometals board member and founder of MYS Dr Vanessa Guthrie, Chris said supporting the program was a no-brainer.

“Being able to help mature women invest in themselves and study at university was an easy decision,” he said.

In an effort to share the story behind the Moorditj Yorga program with his team and to show appreciation to all of the strong women he works with, Chris recently gifted his female colleagues with the MYS scarf, which features fellow Curtin Alumni, Valerie Ah Chee’s artwork Yorgas Barloonginy “Women Rising’. The scarf is a visual representation of Aboriginal culture and the transfer and continuity of knowledge and wisdom between generations.

Ten woman standing and smiling wearing the Moorditj Yorga scarves

It is the concept of transferring and continuity of knowledge that keeps Chris excited to continue supporting the future bright minds that will shape their communities, help solve industry issues, and in future pay it forward once they leave the classroom.

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Grand plans: Donor supports students to shape the world we live in

Western Australia is a state on the move. Its sunny capital, Perth, is famed for a relaxed beach lifestyle and ranked the 12th most liveable city in the world. With a population of 2.7 million forecast to grow to 3.5 million by 2050, Perth is on track to become the third largest capital city in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne.

Characterised by a pristine coastline, diverse climate, fragile ecosystems and unique flora and fauna, WA is a place of stunning contrasts. About 75 per cent of the population lives in the capital and surrounds, with the remaining 25 per cent scattered across a state the size of Western Europe.

With the state set to continue its rapid trajectory of growth, how do we ensure best-practice development in the capital and the regions? How do we optimise the growth of our population, communities, amenities and public spaces? These are questions which Curtin University (then WAIT) addressed in the early 1970s with the establishment of a tertiary course for town planners.

In 1980, lawyer Denis McLeod, who was building a legal practice in planning law at the time, and went on to establish McLeods Lawyers, began teaching in the Curtin town planning program. The program’s focus on establishing a balance between the interests and ambitions of developers, the interests of orderly and proper planning, and the preservation of the amenity and convenience of the relevant locality, appealed to Denis and attracted a cohort of students keen to grapple with these challenging ideas.

As the principal lecturer in planning law, Denis was well placed to help the students develop their skills in that increasingly complex area of planning practice. He was rewarded by motivated and knowledgeable pupils and frequent opportunities for stimulating exchanges of ideas.

Denis continued to teach at Curtin for more than 34 years, but his commitment to his students extended far beyond his classes. Passionate about planning law, and keen to encourage scholarship and critical thinking in the subject, he established the McLeods Prize in Planning Law In the mid-1990s.

“I felt that perhaps what ought to be done was to try to increase the emphasis and the interest in key topics in planning law, and one way to assist in that objective was to establish a fund that would encourage scholarship and research in that area,” Denis said.

Embodying Curtin’s values of Excellence and Impact, Denis arranged for his teaching fees from 1996 to 2014 to be redirected into an endowment fund. Presently the endowment funds a prize awarded annually to high-achieving students in the area of planning law, and it has supported many young people in their studies.

But the wider intention is to assist in funding advanced research and scholarship in planning law issues in WA, such as the absence in the state of third-party planning appeals; the increasingly direct role of the government in the planning decision-making processes; and the direct funding of political parties by developer interests.

Denis is grateful to Curtin University for giving him the opportunity, for more than three decades, to engage with student planners, and to participate in their education.

He sees the establishment of the scholarship fund as an opportunity to show his gratitude in a tangible way to Curtin, for the opportunity of student contact that it provided, and to recognise the great benefit he has derived over the years from his relationship with planning professionals.

“To the extent that gratitude is recognition of a perceived benefit, my gratitude to Curtin and the planning profession for the opportunities of contact they have provided over the years, is great,” he said.

Bio

Denis McLeod established McLeods Lawyers, a leading firm with more than 40 years’ experience in local government law, planning, property, environmental and native title law. He has been honoured in the planning context by the conferring of Life Membership of the Local Government Planners Association, and Honorary Fellowship of the Planning Institute of Australia. Besides his LLB and BA degrees, Denis has an M. Phil degree in Urban Studies.