Meet Lacey, one of scores of students whose future has been transformed by winning a three-year ABCN scholarship, made possible only through donations from generous supporters.

‘My childhood changed forever when I was 13 and my Mum and Dad got into drugs. At that time, I made a decision that I wanted to be different. I didn’t want to follow the same path as them. I wanted to do well and be proud of myself.’

Unable to live with their parents, Lacey and her brother moved in with their grandparents, who put their own retirement plans on hold to provide their grandkids with a home and stability. At the end of Year 10, Lacey applied for an ABCN scholarship, hoping to relieve some of the financial strain. She didn’t bank on it being so much more – helping to turn her life around in ways she could never have imagined.

‘I still remember the first conversation I had with my mentor,’ she says. ‘It wasn’t about careers or study, but an issue I was having at school. She just listened to me and we talked. I connected with her because I knew she had built her career on her own and was independent. She was a great role model to look up to.’

Four years after applying for her scholarship, Lacey has now completed school, enrolled in a pharmacy degree at the University of Queensland and is working full-time in a local pharmacy. She is also considering other career options, something she wouldn’t have contemplated prior to the scholarship program.

‘ABCN has exposed me to so many successful people who’ve had the confidence to try a mixture of different things and that’s made a strong impact on me to do the same,’ she says.

Lacey is one of the lucky ones. Hundreds of students just like her apply for ABCN scholarships every year. Their stories may be different, but their reality is the same: despite potential and the desire to succeed, the circumstances they were born into are holding them back. Research indicates that without intervention, 60% of youth from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds will not complete Year 12 by age 19. This impacts significantly on their ability to earn a sustainable income in the future.

You can make a difference. An ABCN scholarship provides disadvantaged students with corporate mentoring and financial support over Years 11, 12 and the first year of tertiary education and training. Applications for 2019 are now open. Can you help us reach more students? Donate to the Scholarship Foundation today. All donations are tax deductible and all donations will help change a life.