2022 Dr Evelyn Scott Scholarship recipients aspire to close the gap on Indigenous health outcomes
The Bupa Foundation has announced two recipients of the 2022 Dr Evelyn Scott Scholarship as Brittney Andrews and Nikia Bailey, two inspirational university students who are working to help improve Indigenous representation in the health sector.
The Dr Evelyn Scott Scholarship is awarded annually by Bupa to honour the legacy of Dr. Scott, a former resident of Bupa Mt Sheridan and proud Indigenous leader who spent her life fighting for the rights of all peoples. This is the fourth year Bupa has offered the scholarship, tripling the investment from last year awarding a total of $60,000 with two $15,000 scholarships and six runner-up awards of $5,000.
Brittney, a Medical student at the University of Melbourne has interned at Bupa as part of the CareerTrackers program and was recognised for her work inspiring and mentoring high school students through the Melbourne Indigenous STEM Education Program and Residential Indigenous Science Experience program.
“I'm extremely honoured to be awarded the Dr Evelyn Scott Scholarship. Dr Scott was an amazing, influential person who brought about significant positive change and overcame systemic barriers to do so,” Brittney said.
“In the future I'd like to specialise in general practice and then move back to my country (Kaniyang) to serve my community. My goal is to be as influential in advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Dr Scott was.”
Nikia, a Psychology student at the University of South Australia was acknowledged for impact in the Indigenous mental health space, demonstrated by her work with Headspace’s online community ‘Yarnspace’, which is a culturally safe space for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to connect.
“After completing my Master of Clinical Psychology, I will work towards endorsement as a Clinical Psychologist to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their social and emotional wellbeing,” Nikia said.
“Ultimately, I want to work towards destigmatising mental health and help-seeking behaviour for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and provide culturally safe clinical interventions.”
In the lead up to National Close The Gap Day, Hisham El-Ansary, Bupa’s Asia Pacific CEO congratulated this year’s recipients for their outstanding achievements and dedication to supporting their community and the younger generation.
Both recipients are already having real impact in their fields, while striving to address the bigger issues particularly around bridging the gap for Indigenous health outcomes
“We hope that through this scholarship we can support Indigenous future leaders to pursue careers in the health sector and take steps towards health equality for First Nations Peoples. It’s a privilege to be able to honour Dr Scott’s legacy by supporting talented students like Brittney and Nikia.”
Six $5,000 runner-up scholarships were also awarded to:
- Mieka Torrens, Bachelor of Applied Science: Psychology at RMIT.
- Kealey Griffiths, Bachelor of Science (Psychology Major): University of Queensland
- Michael Cullen, Bachelor of Psychological Sciences, University of Adelaide
- Jo-Hannah Wright, Bachelor of Psychological Sciences, University of Queensland
- Macie Lamont, Bachelor of Biomedicine, University of Melbourne
- Somer Searle, Bachelor of Science in Psychology, University of Canberra
More information on the Dr Evelyn Scott Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Scholarship is available here.
More information on Dr Evelyn Scott and her legacy is available here.
