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Go for Gold Scholarship NSW Winners - 2008
Education
Ingrid discovered Iyengar Yoga about 5 years ago and has been a devotee ever since. She states that her journey with yoga has been incredible and recently commenced her teacher training under one of Australia's most senior practitioners. Ingrid states that she is in awe of yoga's ability to transform the physical and mental body on a profound physiological level. Depending on the postures used, Iyengar yoga can calm and quieten the nervous system, just as it can invigorate and stimulate. Its impact has changed and continues to change her life significantly. She is physically stronger and more agile, more able to cope with the mental and emotional demands of MS and is confident that it has maintained her health at its current state.
Ingrid's dream is to travel to Los Angeles in March 2009 to study with Eric Small and Garth Mclean who both have MS and are certified Iyengar Yoga teachers who specialise in working with people who have MS. She has been invited to observe their work both as a participating student and an apprentice.
This scholarship will create long term benefits for Ingrid and provide her with the opportunity to increase her understanding of how to work with MS using yoga, to equip her with new skills in how to be able to help others.
After being diagnosed with MS in 1993 Frances continued to work 30 hours a week, but it got too hard and she was granted a disability pension in 1999. This was followed by quite a black period in her life where she experienced low self esteem, lack of confidence and depression. However, someone suggested taking the Open Foundation course at Newcastle University which she completed despite constantly telling herself that it was too hard and she was too tired.
In 2002 she enrolled in the University of Newcastle in a Bachelor of Social Science degree and discovered social anthropology in her first year and in her words 'it was like learning to breathe out'. She has a particular interest in racial violence and plans to pursue further research in this area.
There have been a few hiccups on the way and there were some tough times, but she sat her last exam in June this year and did so well was invited to study honours. One of Frances' referees stated that going to University has been an important part of Fran's personal journey. Attaining her degree and going on to do Honours demonstrates that having MS does not define what a person can achieve. Another referee said that having MS has changed the course of Fran's life as she may never have undertaken her tertiary studies and may never have realised her academic potential. While her financial situation has been dramatically restricted, Fran discovered an amazing academic resource - namely herself.
Fran says that the last 7 years have been incredibly hard both mentally and physically. She's had to learn to believe in herself again and see herself as a worthwhile member of society. Her studies have allowed her to shift her focus away from herself, reintegrate back into the community, mix with people, and realise that she is not totally useless and her opinions are valid.
Fran wants to use her scholarship to upgrade her computer, get a bigger and faster printer and buy the textbooks she needs so she can work more at home instead of having to walk to and from the campus on a daily basis. In her words "that's what this scholarship is all about, it's a hand up and once I'm standing I can run with it from there."
Damien was diagnosed with MS 3 years ago at the age of 26. He is married and the very proud father of two young sons aged 2 years and six months and has two dreams, the first to have a successful career in Human Resource Management and the second to have a happy, healthy, well provided for family now and well into the future.
For over a year now Damien has worked as an HR associate and has developed a passion for the profession and he believes that a career in HR will provide the security he wants to ensure that he will be able to support his young family.
MS has affected a number of areas of his life but he believes that MS has also enabled his dream. It has made him more focussed on his ability to provide for his family and has made him more determined to succeed. He says he is lucky to have found a passion for working in HR as this job is perfect for him and his particular MS symptoms, as it is a career not based on physical exertion.
Damien's dream is to study Certificate IV in Business (Human Resources) through OTEN and this scholarship will provide him with the opportunity to enrol in the course and purchase the materials and textbooks he needs for his studies. This course will give him an enormous head start with his studies and in Damien's words 'having MS means the future is unknown, but this scholarship will give him some control back in his life'.
Anna has an Honours degree in Organic Chemistry and a Masters in Science from the University of Sydney. Her studies led her to attain a Pharmacy degree and as she states in her application "this gave her a better understanding of different disease states and how they could be treated pharmacologically". During the course of her community and hospital employment, she developed innovative, creative ideas and approaches to helping people - with an eye to merging her pharmacological background with complementary healing methods.
However, her world changed in 2004 when she was diagnosed with MS. For the next three years she lived in a world of "ceaseless struggles", torn between continuing her passion for community pharmacy and helping others, to the slow agonising realisation of having to help herself. She describes a mental and physical struggle which left her feeling disempowered and that the Universe had abandoned her. The thing that saddened her most was that she had to focus her energies towards helping herself, rather than helping others which is what she so wanted to do.
However, Anna rose to the challenge before her and believes that by merging her strong academic background with her diverse skills in health and healing, she can contribute a unique and valuable perspective to the role of helping other people with MS.
Her dream is to pursue further studies by undertaking a Certificate in Life Coaching and becoming a positive role model, in life counselling and coaching of people with MS. Her desire to help others united with her dream of merging Pharmacy with Complementary Medicine, would not only bring joy and sparkle into her life, it will ensure she continues on the healing and recovery highway of her new life.
The Arts
Katerina was diagnosed with MS in 2001 while she was studying for the HSC at Newtown High School of Performing Arts. Between 2003 and 2007 she studied Arts part-time at Sydney University and was awarded the Walter Reid memorial prize for academic results in 2007.
Katerina was the subject of a short documentary produced by her cousin Chantelle for her final project in her communications degree and she has had an acting role in a 2005 Tropfest entry. Her dream from high school has been to pursue a career in the dramatic arts.
In her application for a scholarship Katerina explained that her dream is to produce a short film suitable for entry in the Other Film Festival (Australia's only international disability film festival, entries being those "made by, with or about people with a disability". Being the producer would allow her to work when she has the energy, which is not a possibility when working on other people's projects. She intends to work with her cousin Chantelle and another cousin who graduated from the Conservatorium of Music with a major in composition and also has experience in editing music for film. Working with supportive relatives further permits greater flexibility to the progress of the project - not to mention that they have agreed to do this for nothing! This scholarship will allow Katerina to purchase video editing software called Final Cut Studio, hire the required equipment (lighting, sound, props etc.) and a high definition video camera will be borrowed from family.
For Katerina, making her film will fill the void that having to withdraw from university has created. It will also lift her mentally and emotionally, invigorate her physically and renew her raison d'etre with something close to her earlier aspirations. Working with people her own age will re-establish social contact that is currently in short supply in her life.
Katerina stated in her application that she has always been determined to grab what she can from life and make the most of it. Far from being held back she has been a volunteer and a committee member and 2007 chairperson of the Recreation and Peer Support Group at Glebe which she states helped her develop organisational and personal skills that will be useful for her project.
Stephen was nominated by his daughter Carly. He was diagnosed 17 years ago, and retired in 1999 after many years of working with Australia Post. Carly describes her Dad as a real hands-on kind of man. If he wasn't at work he'd be out the back working on a car, gardening, building an aviary for his birds or fixing, rather improving, something that he thought needed improving.
In recent years, some might say as he's matured - not sure of the inference there Stephen - whether you've always been just a big kid or perhaps Carly was referring to a change in your interests. However, it appears that Stephen has found a new love in painting. It wasn't the most obvious choice of a hobby and no-one in the family ever thought of him as much of an artist in the traditional sense, but his first attempts were pretty good - a ship on the horizon, a landscape, a copy of a painting in their kitchen.
However, as Stephen's outdoor hands-on activities became more restricted, painting is something that he has kept up, continually improving on his early work.
Stephen's family is keen to provide him with his own art studio in the garage, plenty of room for an easel, his canvases, brushes and a concrete floor to deal with spillage should that occur, rather than it happening on the carpet inside the house. People may remember the way Pro Hart painted with all that sloshing - and on carpet (which had no doubt been donated) it's pretty reasonable for Stephen have his own sloshing space. Let's hope Stephen will enjoy similar success to Pro Hart with his painting and we await news of his first exhibition.
Throughout the 30 years that Fiona has been living with MS she has continually set goals and followed dreams. Anyone who knows Fiona will attest to the fact that she is a most determined, tenacious person with a great capacity to adapt to the challenges life has thrown her way. For many years photography has been a major focus of her life and she has produced some amazing work, none the least are the photographs she has taken in the Antarctic on one of her 11 trips to the area. Some of you may have seen some of those photographs which adorn the walls of MSL's Chatswood office.
Fiona's resilience has been amply demonstrated because as the disease progressed, she has adapted her approach to photography, particularly in the fast changing digital world. Her current dream is to produce a body of work including still and moving images to be exhibited at a fundraising event in Sydney during 2009 with a working title of "A day in the life of ".
Through this project, she wants to highlight the diverse nature of MS by photographing and interviewing a selection of people with MS, their differing situations, symptoms and methods of managing day-to-day living.
Fiona plans to use her scholarship to attend a photoshop and film editing course, to purchase Photoshop CS3 and an image-stabilised DVD recorder. She wants to continue raising funds and awareness for MS throughout her artistic endeavours and while MS has affected her ability for employment, it hasn't diminished her passion for big dreams.
Meegan is 32 years old, works as a midwife and is the proud mother of 4 children. She plans to continue working in her profession, perhaps on a part-time basis, but doesn't plan to work as a midwife forever. As part of her forward planning she has not only developed a great passion for photography but found that she has some talent for it and in applying for a Go for Gold Scholarship she outlined her dream to be given the opportunity to develop her skills in this artistic medium.
Meegan stated in her application that photography keeps her active and by using it as an outlet, she is able to lower her frustrations by doing something positive. It also gives her an opportunity to interact with her children and part of her love of taking photos is seeing the results of her work. Eventually, Meegan hopes to make some money from her photography.
Her dream is to attend a photography course and purchase equipment such as a tripod to make it easier to keep the camera steady. She would also like to purchase digital software for her computer and a more sophisticated printer so she can produce her own photos at home which as a busy Mum will no doubt be quite a bonus.
One of Meegan's referees states that she has an amazing ability to be positive about life and another referee refers to Meegan's keen eye and natural skill for photography which hopefully will be given a boost with this scholarship.
Employment
Donna's dream is to be able to run her own business full time from home. She has a brand new business called Coolowensfarm that she started 6 months ago and she dreams about making it a full time career instead of a hobby. She named the business after her boxers Cool and Owen and her horses (French Fry, Splash and Cobber) have been used as the logo for the company.
Donna believes she is lucky so far as she mostly suffers from fatigue which sometimes makes it difficult to make decisions or work out problems and while this has slowed her down a little it hasn't stopped her from pursuing her dreams. Her business consists of rural photography, original t-shirt design and handmade stationery with animal sayings for people who understand just how special animals are.
Her designs are 100% original and once a month she has a stall at a local market where she sells her shirts, stationery and photographs and she wants to expand her range to include caps, pens and stickers - in other words a few cheaper items for people who don't have much cash on market day. Very enterprising indeed!
Donna is also enrolled in a photography course at the Hawkesbury community college to learn more about the technical side of this craft. She will use her scholarship to buy an SLR camera, to advertise her business in magazines such as Urban Animal, Horse Deals and Dogs Life and to pay for a professional to finish off her website which her sister designed, but doesn't have quite the technical expertise to get past the more difficult technical aspects of setting up a website.
Donna wrote in her application that she is trying to make her own money so that she will be able to support herself in any circumstance and having her own business gives her reassurance of independence. She is also actively showing that to have MS does not mean you can't follow your dream.
Kay's dream began in Bali where she was taken for 10 days of rest and relaxation by a friend. They stayed at the Novotel and there she had some full body massages which were not only relaxing, but very helpful for her leg muscles where she experiences painful muscle spasms and cramping. Kay also had some massage lessons which taught her not only how to help herself, but to help others. Her instructor in Bali told her she was a great student, quick to learn and a good listener. And so the dream began.
Back home she purchased a massage table and all the necessary oils, but now needs more education in this field before she can start working with other people. Not only can she help others, but she also hopes to be able to make a modest living as a massage therapist.
One of Kay's referees states that she always puts the welfare of her friends before her own issues and has organised many charity events in her local area. With her children she has raised $30,000 over a 4 year period. Well done the Jarret family!
The Go for Gold scholarship will enable Kay to undertake a certified massage course in Parramatta, pay for accommodation while she does the course and cover the cost of transport between Ulladulla and Sydney. It will also enable her to buy more equipment to set up her own business.
Kay says that this scholarship will not only make a difference to her life, but to her family and to those she can help to improve the quality of their lives by learning relax and reduce stress. She looks forward to being able to help others in her MS support group both in Ulladulla and other nearby areas.
Sport
Dale is a permanent resident at the MS Residential Unit at Lidcombe. She is interested in everything happening in the world and attends TAFE two mornings a week learning computer skills. Dale's options to interact within the community are somewhat restricted now so she is keen to explore various opportunities.
She has developed an interest in sailing and a Go for Gold scholarship will provide Dale with the opportunity to become a member of Sailability Dobroyd at Five Dock through which she will meet a new circle of like-minded people, allow her to participate in a safe, fun and healthy sport, as well as learn a new skill that she can take as far as she chooses.
Sailability is a world-wide volunteer based, non profit organisation that provides sailing opportunities for people with any level of disability. There are 360 clubs in 18 countries and ten of those clubs are located in Sydney. Sailability is a member of the NSW Association of Disability Sport and a committee of Yachting Australia. Periodically the club at Five Dock holds periodic social events that Dale will be invited to attend.
In Dale's application she wrote "I've wanted to go sailing for a long time and I am really keen to learn how to do it. It will be a challenge. It is important to keep motivated and set new goals. Meeting other people out in the community will widen my circle of friends and sailing will give me a new interest."
This scholarship will cover all monetary expenses that Dale will encounter during the 2008-2009 sailing season. Four volunteers will form a roster to accompany Dale to the fortnightly sailing days. They will assist with accessing the site and organising meals. Transferring into the boats and on-water sailing is taken care of by trained Sailability volunteers and Dale will accompany an experienced sailor in an Access 303 and will be given the opportunity to learn how to sail - and if she chooses, how to race.
One of Dayle's referees mentioned that she can continue sailing in the year to come, perhaps compete in local regattas and State and National Championships and she even mentions the World Masters Games being held at the Dobroyd Aquatic Club in 2009. However, before Dayle reaches those dizzy heights, she might like to accept her scholarship and news of her successes in future competitions will be highlighted in our quarterly magazine Intouch.
Sarah's application was sent in by her husband Mark who explained that for many years one of Sarah Jane's favourite exercises has been rowing on an indoor machine at the gym where they were members. In recent times they bought themselves a rowing machine - otherwise known as an erg - which Sarah Jane uses several times a week and apart from a one hour session with a physiotherapist this is her sole exercise activity.
Apart from keeping her healthy, Sarah-Jane has also set several world records for her adaptive rowing classification and this year she hopes to set yet another record for her age and weight class, for the third year in a row.
One of Sarah-Jane's doctors recently commented that without the hard work and effort she has put into her rowing, there would have been a good possibility that she would now be confined to a wheelchair, instead of still being able to walk using her walking aid.
Sarah-Jane's dream is to purchase a new Concept2 rowing machine which the Go for Gold scholarship will make possible. We look forward to hearing about Sarah-Jane's next attempt on the world record. One of her referees states that she cringes at Sarah-Jane's exercise program and seriously wonders whether she could complete the same sessions that Sarah-Jane undertakes every week. She also says that over the past 3 years she has witnessed Sarah-Jane set goals, achieve them and through each stage her determination ceased to falter. It seems that the more MS takes from her, the stronger is her will to succeed.
We await further developments in Sarah-Jane's sporting career and congratulate her both on winning this scholarship and on her success in setting world records - a truly inspiring achievement.
Music
Prior to being diagnosed with MS in 1997 Tony was a professional musician, the co-leader of Clarion Fracture Zone an improvisational jazz-based ensemble which gained world-wide acclaim. He was also a member of the Australian Art Orchestra comprising the best musicians in Australia. He travelled extensively, writing, recording and playing music that reflected his journeys here and overseas.
One of Tony's referees wrote how astonished he was that despite being unable to feel his fingers, he re-taught himself to play the clarinet and re-evaluated his continuing involvement in his life-long love of making music. Five years ago he self-released a CD of solo clarinet pieces called "Songs of Hope" and from the very favourable response the CD received, it was apparent that this touched a great many people. He did a performance celebrating the CD's success and this sparked off a new phase. He started a collaboration with the Indian tabla player Bobby Singh who tuned in to Tony's wavelength and they recorded a CD together called "As Wide As the Sky".
What Tony wants to do now is a piece reflecting the passing of the seasons. The Indians have music even for specific times of day and Tony wants to do four concerts - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. He wants to incorporate visual input and has been in touch with a celebrated astronomer whose images of distant galaxies are world renowned.
Tony's dream is to be able to stage four concerts spread across a year and although ticket sales would cover some of the costs, the rest - involving venue hire, publicity and production - he says, "is beyond him" and without the backup this scholarship provides, he would be unable to proceed. It has been difficult to find consistent performance opportunities so he needs to create his own. The concert series of his dreams will facilitate the next step towards a sustainable career providing increased income, recognition and self-esteem and allow Tony to make a meaningful contribution to society.