49 student-athletes representing 19 different sports have been awarded a UQ Sporting Scholarship for 2024.
UQ Sport Chief Executive Officer Bryan Pryde said the UQ Sporting Scholarship program allows student-athletes to balance studies with the demands of elite-level sport.
“Our Scholarship holders benefit from access to UQ Sport’s fitness facilities, as well as student-athlete workshops, academic liaison and tutoring delivered through the UQ Sport Elite Athlete Program.” Bryan said.
The most represented degree among the new group of student-athletes is a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), with eight scholarship recipients currently enrolled. The Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences is the leading faculty of choice, with 20 scholarship recipients.
Returning scholarship holder, Rachael Watson is a beneficiary of The Matthew Levy OAM Future Paralympian Scholarship. She hopes to represent Australia at the Paralympic games in Paris this year, where she will defend her gold medal in the 50-metre freestyle S4.
“Thank you to Matthew Levy, UQ Sport and The University of Queensland, for your continued support in managing student-athlete life! It can be busy and take much longer, but it’s so important to have an education away from the pool because elite swimming is only a small chapter of your life.” Rachael said.
Robert Thorpe is a competitive long-distance swimmer studying a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) with a Sports Achievement Scholarship.
“The goal at the end of my career is to be a sports psychiatrist, and I believe this goes hand-in-hand with my sport being a mentally challenging sport: competing for two hours in the water. I’m already applying what I learn at university to my sport; it’s a cool process to trial things out in my sport.” Robert said.
