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Legacy scholarships back students to continue studies in law and dementia research

Three University of Tasmania students have received a welcome boost of support to continue studying in fields they are passionate about, including law and dementia research, as recipients of some of the University’s most generous scholarships.

Yasmin Doust has been awarded the Rhonda Ewart Honours Scholarship in Dementia Care, and Felix Craig and Alice Cox have received the Zoe Ewart Memorial Scholarship in Law and the John Kable Memorial Scholarship in Law respectively.

The students were presented with the scholarships at a ceremony today attended by longstanding supporter and member of the University community, Rhonda Ewart.

Bachelor of Medical Research graduate Yasmin Doust is the third recipient of the Rhonda Ewart Honours Scholarship in Dementia Care , which will provide her with $5,000 as she embarks on her honours year.

The scholarship was established and endowed in 2015 by Ms Ewart to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the University and support honours students at the University’s Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre.

“I would very much like to thank Rhonda for [allowing me to be] the recipient of this prestigious scholarship. I’m so excited to have so much support and assistance in my research. At the moment I’m looking particularly into traumatic brain injury and the pathology behind that, and then hope to continue into researching depression.”

Yasmin’s research will explore the modulation of microglia changes and their relationship to synapses, the outcome of which could allow interpretation of altered microglia synapse connectivity in experimental models of disease such as Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injury.

Felix Craig , in his second year of a Bachelor of Arts and Laws, was awarded the Zoe Ewart Memorial Scholarship in Law.

The scholarship, valued at $3,000 per year for up to four years, was established by Ms Ewart in 2006 in memory of her mother Zoe Ewart, and to encourage talented students to study and explore legal and justice issues at a tertiary level.

Passionate about the capacity of international human rights law to address human rights violations, Felix aspires to work within the international arena, and in preparation is studying French and German as part of his Arts degree.

“I’d like to thank Zoe and Rhonda, it is a huge honour. I feel like this scholarship will go a long way in helping my legal career,” he said.

Second year Bachelor of Business and Laws student Alice Cox is the 18th recipient of the John Kable Memorial Scholarship in Law.

The scholarship, created in 1996 from the estate of eminent Tasmanian lawyer John Kable in his honour by his mother Bess Kable, contributes $4,000 per year towards HECS fees for the duration of a degree.

Ms Kable dedicated her entire estate to endowing the scholarship in perpetuity, which was presented to the University last year following her passing.

“I’m extraordinarily grateful, I’m honoured to be able to receive this scholarship, because John Kable was an incredible lawyer and his legacy lives on today,” Alice said.

Alice’s interest in law was sparked in college during a legal studies class. She aspires to work in corporate law when she graduates.

Pictured: Scholarship recipients (L-R) Felix Craig, Alice Cox and Yasmin Doust with donor Rhonda Ewart.