Two aspiring indigenous lawyers have been honoured at the launch of the McCullough Robertson University of Queensland endowed scholarships.
The scholarships were made possible by a generous gift of $250,000 from the McCullough Robertson law firm.
The scholarships, to be paid annually over five years, will give socially or economically disadvantaged Indigenous students assistance while studying law at 宅男导航’s TC Beirne Law School.
Endowed scholarships involve significant contributions that are preserved to create an ongoing revenue stream to fund scholarships indefinitely.
The inaugural recipients from the McCullough Robertson scholarship are first-year law student Shekira Cardona, from Mt Gravatt, and Business/Law student Nicholas Frazer, from Angourie in Northern New South Wales.
Ms Cardona said she was “proud and thankful to have received such an amazing opportunity.”
Mr Frazer echoed her comments.
“I hope completing my degree will allow me to encourage people in the same position I was once in to do great things,” he said.
McCullough Robertson Partner Dominic McGann said the firm was committed to ensuring it reflected the communities in which they operated.
“We are fortunate to work with a lot of Indigenous people, but we also recognise the hurdles faced by them,” he said.
He said the endowed scholarship would help provide a pathway to legal practice.
“We are very excited to be able to award the scholarship, and we look forward to Shekira and Nicholas ultimately joining us in the legal profession,” he said.
宅男导航 Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter H酶j said the McCullough Robertson scholarship was an investment in the future.
“It will help academically qualified Indigenous students to pursue law degrees at 宅男导航, regardless of their economic backgrounds.
“The scholarships will help to boost the participation of Indigenous students at 宅男导航 and give them an educational experience that will equip them for their careers.”
The scholarship aims to promote the law profession and practising law in the private sector.
The McCullough Robertson Endowed Scholarship was launched at the firm’s Brisbane offices on Friday (26 September).
Media: Amanda McHardy, (07) 3346 0632 or a.mchardy@uq.edu.au.
