Three high-achieving Honours students, Ms Brittany Gilchrist, Ms Katie Saliba and Ms Maggie Potts, are the 2018 recipients of the Strathmore Community Bank Honours Prize.

Recently awarded at the Institute’s annual Celebrating Supporters event, each scholarship of $5000 provides support to Honours students who have demonstrated a commitment to community service, outreach and engagement.

Ms Gilchrist said the award encouraged and enabled her to pursue research and focus on work at the Institute, whilst maintaining connections with the community.

“I’m very grateful for the generosity of Strathmore Bank in providing me with this opportunity,” she said.

A great community cause

The Strathmore Community Bank, a franchisee of Bendigo Bank, plays an active role in helping dozens of local groups.

For the past chairman of its board, Mr Peter McKie, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute stood out.

“I knew the history of the Institute, and that its research was absolutely world-class,” Mr McKie said.

“I said to my wife one day after reading about Institute research in the paper, ‘what a great cause, why don’t we look at supporting scholarships there?’ The board agreed,” he said.

Helping students thrive

Institute director Professor Doug Hilton said the Strathmore Community Bank played an important role in student life at the Institute.

“The Strathmore Community Bank has been supporting the Institute since 2012, donating $50,000 over this time.

"We’ve seen many exceptional students receive the Honours Prize and we are really proud of how they have thrived at the Institute and beyond,” he said.