Miranda Wakefield grew up in Yamba, a town of just 7000 people in northern NSW. Miranda is the first ofher family to ever finish year 12. 

Her journey hasn’t been easy. With low HSC grades due to poor schooling opportunities, Miranda’s only route to university was to study for a Certificate III, while working long hours to support herself and save for her fees.

But all her hard work has paid off. Her effort and determination earned her not only a place on our Bachelor of Education course, but also a scholarship that has finally made her dream of studying at Macquarie possible.

As well as launching a career in teaching, Miranda aims to be a good role model to her little sisters and help give them a bright future too.

“I’ve not had a lot of good things happen in my life, but getting a scholarship has boosted my confidence and made me feel like I can achieve a lot. It’s allowed me to properly focus on my studies, and to buy my text books and a printer.”

Miranda Wakefield
Undergraduate student and scholarship recipient
Bachelor of Early Education

The scholarship has allowed me to find who I am. I am making my own path now, and the scholarship was the reason I could go to university in the first place. It hasn’t just affected me; it has benefited all the people around me and the people I will meet in years to come.

Tierneigh grew up in remote Alice Springs, and after leaving home in Year 11, worked hard to support herself through part-time employment. Despite this, Tierneigh achieved top marks in her final year at high school, displaying the tenacity and persistence to continue her studies. Tierneigh lacked the funding to pursue them further, but scholarship support has allowed her to relocate to Sydney and pursue her dream.

Tierneigh says: “This scholarship was literally the deciding factor as to whether I attended University or not. At the start of Year 12 I had moved out of home and was supporting myself by working 20 hours per week on top of attending school. I volunteered a couple of afternoons a week at local community schools and their homework centres. It was this that sparked my interest in social justice and pushed me to pursue a career in this area.”

Receiving the Macquarie Accommodation Scholarship meant I could relocate from regional NSW. Without scholarship support, I would not have been able to study at a tertiary level. Not only did this scholarship help to cover living costs and equipment such as textbooks, it has allowed me to follow my passion for education – something that would have otherwise been unachievable.

Furthermore, this extra support meant I could save enough to participate in an overseas University project that I am passionate about – helping local communities in Borneo prepare legal documents that will protect national parks from developers. For this I am very grateful. It allowed me to put what I had learnt throughout my law degree into practice, but also learn leadership skills which I will be able to use going into my career.

My long term goal is to use the knowledge and experience I have gained from my Macquarie degree to work in criminal law, specifically working with children.

I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship while at Macquarie University, and beyond assisting with living expenses, it has had a significant impact upon my University experience, providing a welcome degree of financial security which I am thankful for. Initially from the country, Sydney accommodation prices were startling to me.

Additionally, funds from my scholarship have given me a greater flexibility with my pattern of study than I would have otherwise been afforded. Importantly to me, my scholarship has also enabled additional study in the form of an Honours program, which I will undertake next year.

During my working career I often wondered what I could do to acknowledge how grateful I was to Macquarie University for helping me not only achieve my goal of attaining a B.A. Dip. Ed. but also how proud my achievement made my family. I contemplated sending an annual donation but this did not seem to fully satisfy an internal need of doing something worthwhile. Then in December 2012 I received Professor Dowton's letter telling me not only his story but also Tara Djokic's story. It was if a lightbulb went off in my head- I realised I had an affiliation with them both so I could now contribute, albeit in a small way, to a worthwhile cause and have my donation used in a positive way. 

It means so much to me to be a Scholarship recipient. I come from a single parent family and university expenses can be overwhelming. The education scholarship is helping me to pursue my law and media degree by easing the accompanying financial burden. It has been a huge benefit in allowing me to concentrate on my studies rather than worrying about my financial situation. It is heartening to know that there are people who care about my university experience; I would like to thank them and assure them that the scholarship has made a big difference to my life. I always intended whatever I do with my law degree to have a social justice focus: this scholarship is helping me realise this dream with dignity. Thank you.