ZONTA SCHOLARSHIPS FUEL BRIGHT FUTURES FOR LOCAL YOUNG WOMEN

Each year, the Zonta Club of the Whitsundays Inc. offers scholarship opportunities to young female students from the Whitsundays region and its surroundings. These scholarships assist with the costs associated with accessing a tertiary course of their choice, providing worthy applicants with the means to pursue higher education when they otherwise wouldn't be able to.

Founded in 1919 in Buffalo, New York, the club has become an international staple for women’s empowerment and women's rights to work. Their vision is a world in which women’s rights are recognised as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. Where women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men.

As a leading global organisation of professionals, their slogan is ‘Empowering Women Through Service and Advocacy’, and the Zonta Club of the Whitsundays Inc. supports this slogan by providing scholarships and awards to deserving young girls pursuing tertiary education who, because of limited financial means or distance, would otherwise struggle to access the course of their choice.  

In 2024 the club awarded three scholarships: the PJ Halter Memorial Scholarship for $3000 and two Zonta Achievement Awards each for $2000.

The recipients are:
PJ Halter Memorial Scholarship – Eleanor Baldock.
Zonta Achievement Awards – Molly Bennett and Hazel Farrell.
These three girls had to fit the ideal candidate criteria and demonstrate the following qualities to be eligible for the awards. They must show academic promise and commitment to their education, engagement with extra-curricular activities, and personal qualities consistent with Zonta values.
The application process closed in late September of 2024, with interviews for the awards conducted in mid-October. Applications had to include a written statement from the applicant and from their educational organisation showing support, an academic transcript, and a Curriculum Vite. Now having won, the girls plan to put the money towards relocation costs and new technology upgrades that can handle all they require in their chosen tertiary study fields.
Margaret Kennedy, the treasurer of the Zonta Club of the Whitsundays Inc, stated that they had many very worthy applicants that year at the awards ceremony held recently in January.
“We have no doubts that they will all make their way in life, in their chosen field. We look forward to keeping in touch with them as mentors for the period of their education, and beyond.”
All three award winners this year are from St Catherine’s Catholic College. Margaret Kennedy stated that this is a credit to the school for instilling such important values and educational drive into their female students. This has created opportunities for girls to thrive and develop community and social values that allowed them to shine above all the other applicants and achieve the Zonta Club scholarship awards.

Two of the winners with the interview panel members; winners Molly Bennett (left) and Eleanor Baldock (right), with Club members Dianne Trueman and Margaret Kennedy (middle). Photo Credit: Victoria Velton
Ladies of the Zonta Club of the Whitsundays Inc., the award winners and their Mums, and St Catherine's teacher Shantae Ryle. Photo Credit: Victoria Velton

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