Financial hardship continues to be a barrier for many university students. As a recipient of the Curtin University Create Your Own Future Scholarship, Taylor Clark was able to complete her undergraduate studies and begin postgraduate studies with the aspiration of facilitating social change.<\/p>\n
Attending high school was never easy for Taylor Clark, who worked five nights a week to support herself. Although she had a burning ambition to study, she knew that achieving the marks to get into university was only half the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring high school, going to university wasn\u2019t something spoken about at home due to financial pressures,\u201d Taylor recalls.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a single parent father who was in the military for the majority of my life and so money was definitely something that we worried about. I felt that university was something that I couldn\u2019t do and that was out of my reach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor successfully applied for the Curtin University Create Your Own Future Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to students who have the potential to succeed in higher education, but are restricted by financial difficulties.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout the scholarship, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to study straight after high school. I would have had to work for a few years to provide enough money for basic living expenses before I could think about university,\u201d Taylor says.<\/p>\n
For many students like Taylor, attending university is a cause of great financial stress. Over 18 per cent of full-time Australian students regularly going without food or other necessities because they can\u2019t afford them, according to a 2012 report on university student finances by Universities Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Taylor was the first person in her family to attend university, choosing to study a Bachelor of Interior Architecture. The scholarship helped her purchase textbooks, a laptop and travel for research.<\/p>\n \u201cInterior architecture was at the time the perfect degree for me to study after high school. I had an eye for architecture: I enjoyed technical drawing and figuring out how things went together. I would also find myself hand-drawing designs to relax,\u201d Taylor says.<\/p>\n With financial pressures abated, Taylor has been able to volunteer in Fiji, become a Student Ambassador, get involved in the John Curtin Leadership Academy and ultimately graduate from Curtin with a Bachelor of Interior Architecture (Honours) in 2015.<\/p>\n Taylor has since decided to enrol in a Master of Human Rights at Curtin, aspiring to one day help empower and facilitate social change in developing communities around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cI spent my final year of honours researching how design can empower those living in undeveloped countries. I then decided in my final year that my passion didn\u2019t lay in design itself, but rather the communities in which I was researching,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cI would never be content or happy working a traditional high paying job while knowing that there is a large percentage of people that will continue to face hardship due to their geographic location.<\/p>\n \u201cI was given an incredible opportunity to attend university and gain a higher education. I somewhat feel that I was given that opportunity for a reason, and maybe it was to be different: to break the mould, to create change and to be the voice of those who don\u2019t have one.\u201d<\/p>\n