governor poses for photo in front of aboriginal painting in room with people
The Governor with each of the inaugural scholarship recipients at the program launch held at Government House in May 2019 – Taylah Thompson-Patfield, Cheyenne Conway, Nikki McKenzie, Yasmin Hunter and Saira (Maheen) Rind.

Spotlight on Governor’s Patronage – Dr Tracy Westerman Aboriginal Psychology Scholarship

The Governor is proud to be Patron of the Dr Tracy Westerman Aboriginal Psychology Scholarship Program which aims to make a difference in high-risk communities.

Officially launched by the Governor at Government House in May 2019, the program, supported by Curtin University, provides scholarships to Indigenous students so they can become skilled in Indigenous-specific mental health, suicide prevention and intervention programs.

At the launch, the Governor emphasised his support for Dr Westerman’s important vision – to reduce the alarming suicide rates in our rural and remote Indigenous communities, where children as young as 10 years of age are ending their own lives.

Recipients for the 2020 scholarship will be announced in May.

Inaugural scholarship impact report

The inaugural Dr Tracy Westerman Scholarships were awarded to five Indigenous students studying a Bachelor of Psychology at Curtin University. The progress of each student has been presented in a 2019 Impact Report, as well as a message of thanks,

“As you will see, this support is helping these students to focus on their academic goals and benefit from overseas study exchanges and other transformational educational experiences that would otherwise be out of reach. Without your generous support, this would not have been possible.”

Read about each of the recipient’s motivations, hopes and aspirations in the impact report

Furthering understanding and promoting the well-being of our Aboriginal populations, and promoting education, are two of the Governor’s priority areas.
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