The Scholarship Foundation hit the ground running this year, welcoming 15 new scholars to the program. Our highest number yet, this latest cohort of students represent NSW, Victoria, Queensland and our first ever recipient from Tasmania – bringing the total number of ABCN scholarships to 41.

The increasingly high calibre of applications we receive each year makes the selection process more and more difficult. Despite this, the selection committee was unanimous in voting for our most recent, truly exceptional scholars – Gasha, Hajar, Joseph, Tracy, Meseeh, Tamara, Kimberly, Shadab, Elton, Kristie-Lee, Michael, Tahlia, Lacey, Bertha and Wisam.

All of these students have now been allocated mentors who, together with fellow scholars, will take part in two upcoming events – a group session in Sydney during May and the two day Leadership Summit which will be held in Melbourne in August.

A recent 2015 study by Victoria University reveals just 74% of Australian students attain a Year 12 qualification or equivalent by the age of 19. In lower socio-economic areas this figure is further reduced, with only 61% of the most disadvantaged students completing school, compared to 89% of the most advantaged. We are enormously proud therefore to report that 100% of our inaugural 2013 scholarship students not only successfully completed Year 12 at the end of last year, but have also secured entry to tertiary education. These students will go on to become important role models in their community, inspiring others to also realise their potential.

These outstanding results remind us of the important work of the ABCN. With your help we can continue to grow the number of scholarships awarded each year. Please help us reach this goal by visiting www.abcn.com.au/scholarship-foundation and making a donation to the ABCN Scholarship Foundation.