Community
1 October, 2024
Former student gives back
A CAIRNS State High alum and former Cairns resident Toby Carrodus has launched a scholarship program for regional students going into university and he wants more Cairns students to get involved.
“If I could support a Cairns student, that would be the best outcome for me,” he said.
“It’d mean a lot to me to be able to support young people in the community I grew up in and which gave so much to me and offered me the perfect balance between nature and city.”
The Carrodus Scholarship will offer a year 12 regional high school student across Australia a total of $5000 divided into $500 a month for 10 months for any university program at any university in Australia.
“It’s open to all disciplines. I don’t mind if someone’s studying acting or philosophy or maths or science,” he said.
“I want to help someone out whose shoes I was once in, so helping someone from Cairns would be the best.
“I’ve always wanted to do this, I had been considering for a few years and I felt like I could offer more to students and I thought back to my time in university the scholarships were offering less financial support than what I’m offering now and they still made a difference.
“So, even though it’s not quite at the amount I’d like to be able to offer students, I think it’s still enough to make a difference in people's lives.
“One of the biggest challenges I faced was moving from a small town to a capital city and that’s why one of the requisites is for the student to be relocating from a regional area to a capital city.
“I’d also like to see academic achievements, sport achievements and community engagement.”
Mr Carrodus – who now lives in Europe and works in trading – holds Cairns close to his heart having graduated from Cairns State High School in 2003.
Apply by October 20 at https://bit.ly/4gDOhm8
