Ag Scholarship Applications Open

Image: Sarina-born and bred student Sarah Hamblin has just completed her first year of the AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship program

Applications are now open for scholarships available to those passionate about the future of Australian rural industries and Sarina-born and bred student Sarah Hamblin can’t recommend the program highly enough.

Sarah grew up on a wagyu cattle property 30 minutes west of Sarina and attended Sarina State High School.

“I was home every night on the property and I loved it,” Sarah said.

“I got to be home with the horses and the cows and all that fun stuff.”

When Sarah finished high school, she opted to take a gap year, working as a station hand on a cattle property.

“I guess I always knew I had a passion for ag growing up on a property…but I didn’t really know how many opportunities there were in the industry, so I just took a gap year,” she said.

“I absolutely loved it; I learnt so much in that year and I think that’s when I realised I really did want a career in ag.”

Sarah undertook a dual degree at the University of Queensland in Gatton, studying Bachelors of AgriBusiness and Animal Science, with the long-term hope to work on a property.

“I just want to keep expanding my knowledge in different areas,” she said.

“It’s such a diverse industry, especially now with growing food demands, technology, there’s just so many cool avenues you can go down.

“I’d definitely love to travel, and I think with ag we’re very lucky that there’s a lot of opportunity to do that.”

As Sarah was entering the final two years of her degree, she was made aware of the AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship, an initiative providing eligible university students with a $10,000 bursary over two years.

The program provides students with opportunities to develop their leadership skills, expand their networks, attend an annual four-day professional development workshop and complete two weeks of industry work placements per year.

The Horizon Scholarship Program is open to students studying agriculture-related or STEM degrees with major studies and/or subject selections that align to agriculture.

“Our cohorts are no longer made up solely of ag students from traditional farming backgrounds,” said AgriFutures Australia Managing Director John Harvey

“We now have scholars studying engineering, law, business and communications.

“We have scholars from the inner city in the same room as students from cattle stations in central Queensland, and this diversity in backgrounds and thinking is beginning to elevate the conversations beyond anything we’ve seen before.”

Sarah has just completed her third year of study and her first in the program and said it has grown her networks, given her countless more opportunities in the industry and developed her skills personally and professionally.

“I think the program, in that way, is unlike anything I’ve ever done before,” she said.

“I would just encourage anyone to go out and apply for all of these sorts of things and take every opportunity that comes your way because your network is the biggest thing.

“No matter what your interest is, whether you come from an ag background or not, there’s a role in ag that needs all of those different areas.”

For more information and to apply, visit www.agrifutures.com.au/horizon.

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