Heywire winner inspires hospitality scholarship for regional students

2008 Heywire winner Jemima Buckman has inspired a regional scholarship for students at her former hospitality and event management college in Sydney.

Originally from Narrabri in western NSW, Jemima was half way through her studies when she attended the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra in February 2009.

"It was the best week ever and I have to say the most life-changing week of my life. I took so much away from the week and it even changed where my life has gone," she said.

With that inspiration, Jemima returned from the summit where she had discussed the disadvantages young regional Australians face when accessing higher education with an idea to make a positive change.

"Immediately after the youth summit, I worked with my college where I was studying (Kenvale College in Sydney) to set up a scholarship for a rural student to be able to come to that college.

"It's a competition for year 11 students and how it works is the college selects 15 students for one week of work experience in Event Management/Hospitality. Two of those students will win a scholarship to study at Kenvale once they finish year 12, with $3,000 towards their fees - one of those scholarships must go to a regional student," she said.

"The college was really open to the idea, they thought it was a great initiative because rural students are fantastic...they're genuinely keen to to learn and have their feet on the ground," she said.

Jemima is too humble to say she is proud of her idea and achievement, preferring to take pleasure in the fact that a rural student will catch a financial break with their studies.

Not totally satisfied with her own career pathway, it was time for Jemima to address her own learning desires.

"When I returned from the summit I finished my hospitality studies but was now really interested in politics, so I enrolled in Law and Politics at university," she said.

Currently in her second year of studies and tracking towards becoming a political advisor, Jemima's ultimate ambition is to return to the country to ensure rural people are heard in the nation's political debate.

Jemima admits that there was one moment at the Heywire Regional Youth Summit that triggered this career change.

"During the visit to Parliament House in Canberra, I met Tony Windsor MP and he asked another Heywire winner and me to have a coffee with him. I just really admired him for that because he was so willing to listen to us young people and what he had to say... and he took time out of his busy schedule to genuinely listen to us. I always thought that was really good right there... and I like this."

Applications for the Get Real Events Experience close August 3, 2012 and you can find out more here.


Since 1998, the annual Heywire Summit has brought together emerging leaders from regional Australia to develop ideas to improve life for young people in their communities. Take a look at the projects that have resulted from the Summit, and where our past winners' Heywire experience has taken them here.

Entries are open now for the 2012 Heywire competition. Upload your story before Monday, September 17.

Source: ABC News, 23 July 2012