UniSQ nursing graduate wins two high-paying scholarships

With the MacIntyre Wind Farm and Sister Elizabeth Kenny Memorial Scholarships his time on hospital placement was made easier.

With the support of the MacIntyre Wind Farm and Sister Elizabeth Kenny Memorial Scholarships, UniSQ student Ben Andreas has secured a scholarship that will help him further his studies in nursing.

University of Southern Queensland graduate student Ben Andreas was awarded two scholarships that helped in the road to becoming a perioperative nurse.

The scholarships, awarded by MacIntyre Wind Farm and the Sister Elizabeth Kenny Memorial Scholarship, supported Mr Andreas in unpaid placements he needed to complete as part of his UniSQ degree.

“Being awarded the MacIntyre Wind Farm Scholarship was incredibly helpful, and I was very

honoured,” he said.

“I was able to express how important nursing is for me. I was also able to use the

scholarship to help me get through my unpaid nursing placements, without any financial

stress, which allowed me to focus purely on my studies.

“Being awarded the Sister Elizabeth Kenny Memorial Scholarship was very special to me

because I felt as though my values and morals aligned with Sister Elizabeth Kenny’s.

“I see myself as a confident, empathetic, and reliable professional nurse. Through learning about person-centred care and how much of a difference it makes towards not just the patient, but towards their family as well.

“This has made me understand the importance of being a professional nurse, knowing that I will be able to have a positive effect on these people’s lives through high-quality care, and being compassionate makes me motivated, content, and proud.”

Like all nursing students, Mr Andreas must complete lengthy hospital placements that are unpaid.

While deeply informative, they are stressful as students often have to take time off work.

“The scholarships allowed me to focus primarily on my academic studies and clinical

placements without extreme financial stress,” Mr Andreas said.

“I was able to dedicate myself fully to the content and placement experiences.”

After graduating from the University of Southern Queensland, Mr Andreas has secured a job in a Perioperative Introduction Program.

“I have been able to achieve my lifelong career goal of becoming a theatre nurse, where I can care for patients during one of their most vulnerable moments – when they are asleep during surgery,” he said.

“Advocating for my patients while they have surgery inspires me and is incredibly important to me because the patients can’t advocate for themselves.”