Community Colleges Australia (CCA) has announced the shortlist of its 2018 “Community Education Student of the Year” Awards.
The Awards celebrate the achievements of Australia’s adult and community education students, based on career and study; communication, team and leadership skills; and community and other activities.
This year’s final shortlist (in alphabetical order, by first name):
- Aaron Curry, nominated by WEA Illawarra
- Caitlin Collett, nominated by St George and Sutherland Community College
- Emma Kastelein, nominated by Community College Northern Inland
- Jasmine Ridgeway, nominated by the Youth Development Foundation
- Jessica Urquhart, nominated by Tamworth Community College
- Lakisha Sloane, nominated by Robinson Community College
- Natasha Dickens, nominated by Central Coast Community College
- Shiva Smyth, nominated by Byron Community College
The Awards will be presented at the CCA Annual Conference “Gala Dinner” on the evening of Wednesday 14 November 2018 at the Mercure Hotel in Sydney.
“The Australian adult and community education sector constitutes a strong, diverse and dynamic part of our national post-secondary education system, with a particular ability to reach people who are vulnerable and disadvantaged. A common theme of this year’s Award finalists is their ability to overcome significant life challenges through their study,” said Dr Don Perlgut, CEO of CCA.
“CCA thanks every organisation that nominated students this year. We had an extremely large number of nominations, and the judging panel was overwhelmed with the calibre of the students and their stories,” said Dr Perlgut.
About the Awards
An independent panel judged the nominations, consisting of Vanessa Iles, Manager of the Reading Writing Hotline; Sue Outhwaite, Senior Training Market Operations Officer, Training Services NSW, NSW Department of Industry; and Wendy Perry, Managing Director, Workforce BluePrint; chaired by Dr Don Perlgut, CCA CEO.
Eligibility for the 2018 Awards were students who undertook some form of study with an Australian not-for-profit community education organisation during the 14 month period 1 July 2017 through 31 August 2018. There was no age limit, although nominated students had to be Australian citizens or residents, and at least 18 years old by 31 August 2018.
The total prize "pool" for the winner and highly commended is approximately $2500.
This is the second year of the Awards, with the 2017 Award winners announced at CCA’s annual Conference in Melbourne in July 2017. This year the Awards are supported by the NSW Department of Industry.
For more details, view the 2018 Award Terms and Conditions here (PDF).
Details of the 2017 CCA Community Education Student of the Year Award nominees and winners are available here.
