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QCoal Foundation Support Key to Students’ Success

A $30,000 QCoal Foundation Scholarship will help ease financial pressures and allow first year James Cook University Medicine student Priya Taylor-Sidhu to focus fully on her studies.

James Cook University Medicine first-year student Priya Taylor-Sidhu has won a $30,000 QCoal Foundation scholarship.

Proudly hailing from Emerald in Central Queensland, Priya said the scholarship, which provides a JCU student from regional or remote Queensland with $10,000 each year for three years, will be a huge help and allow her to focus on her long-held goal of becoming a doctor for regional and underserved communities.

She commenced her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery earlier this month, fulfilling a long-held ambition.

“Finding out I received the scholarship means I can focus my time and energy on studying and on my degree, rather than needing to work alongside it. That’s going to make a huge difference,” she said.

“I had heard about the program through my high school and people in Emerald who had previously received the scholarship, and I’m so grateful for this support from QCoal Foundation.

The move from Emerald to Townsville, a journey of around seven and a half hours, has been a significant transition.

“It’s hard being away from home, but what I’ll gain by being here is something I’m so grateful for,” she said.

“JCU’s Medicine program is very competitive so getting the offer was a dream come true and knowing there were more than 5000 applicants really puts it into perspective.

“The opportunity to study medicine and to gain the skills to give back to communities like Emerald and the underserved communities is something I’ve always wanted to do.

Along with the QCoal Foundation Scholarship, two $5000 one-off bursaries were also awarded to new JCU students Jasmine Allery and Gracie Gersbach.

Fellow Emerald local and Marist College Emerald graduate, Gracie is studying begin a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) alongside a Bachelor of Science while Mossman State High School graduate Jasmine is studying a Bachelor of Nursing Science at JCU in Cairns.

QCoal Foundation CEO Sylvia Bhatia said they received another very strong field of candidates this year, with a considerable number looking for support to study medicine or an allied health discipline at JCU.

“On behalf of the QCoal Foundation team, we want to congratulate Priya, Jasmine and Gracie and wish them all very best for their studies at JCU,” she said.

“It’s a privilege for us to be part of their futures.

“We were again overwhelmed by the calibre of the applicants and their awareness of the opportunities and challenges of life in regional and remote Queensland.”