A scholarship is providing Chantelle with the opportunity to attend university and turn her dream of a better life into a reality. After completing the Foundation Studies course at UniSA College, Chantelle pursued her studies and her tenacity payed off - receiving the David Pank Undergraduate Scholarship in 2015. The financial assistance from the scholarship has enabled her to study a Bachelor of Midwifery while continuing to support her children.

“Pregnancy with my son introduced me to the incredible profession of midwifery, but it wasn’t until I had my daughter and experienced a poor level of support and professionalism that I decided I had to apply to university to become a midwife,” Chantelle says.

“I knew I could do a better job supporting women through their journey to become mothers.

“I’m a single mother with two young children so finances are always tight. Scholarships are so important because they can help students, like me, who are trying very hard to create a better life for themselves and their children.

“This scholarship has been incredible for me, and I’m eternally grateful for being chosen and having the extra support to follow my dream.”

Receiving the scholarship has significantly helped Chantelle with the costs of day care, travel to placements and appointments, uniforms, textbooks and parking. It has greatly reduced her financial stress and allowed her to focus on her children and on pursuing a career as a midwife.

“I love being there as an extra support for pregnant women and their partners. I love the rapport I’m able to build with them, and the thought that they’ve trusted me and allowed me to share in the incredible and personal experience of birth with them.

“Lifting a newborn baby onto their mother’s chest and seeing the emotions and relief on both parents’ faces is indescribable and unlike anything I’ve experienced. This is my dream career, I love every aspect of it.

“My goal is to be offered a job in my grad year, and then acquire a more permanent employment position. I hope to one day build my own house so that I don’t have to keep moving my children around from house to house in rental properties.”

In 2013 Chantelle was offered a position in the Foundation Studies course through UniSA College, and her experiences with her tutors and lecturers made her decision on where to complete her studies very easy.

“They were some of the most amazing people I have ever met – they were all incredibly supportive and helpful, and I remain friends with a number of them to this day. After this experience I knew I wanted to continue my degree through UniSA."

By supporting students through the 25th Birthday Scholarship Fund, you too can help students, like Chantelle, change their lives and turn their dreams into a reality. Please visit unisa.edu.au/25thscholarshipfund to learn more.