Two young Lithgow scholars have been selected to share in the annual Hoskins Lithgow Scholarship.
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Oliver O’Toole and Callum Woodrow were selected by the Scholarship Committee from a field of quality candidates.
They will equally share the scholarship funds during the course of their study.
Oliver and Callum both excelled academically and were recognised for their extra-curricular involvement in the community.
Oliver, who completed his HSC in 2017 at St Stanislaus’ College in Bathurst, served as a college prefect, public relations officer of St Stanislaus’ College and vice-president of the St Vincent de Paul Conference for the school.
He received a Premier’s Award for All-round Excellence, achieved a Band 6 (above 90 per cent) in all his subjects. His Extension 2 English poem was selected for the Young Writer’s Showcase in 2017.
As a talented public speaker and debater, Oliver won numerous public speaking and debating awards while he was at school. He was the NSW Catholic Schools Debating Association Country Champion debater in 2015 and his team were runners-up in the Country Schools Debating State Championships that year. Oliver also exhibited paintings at the St Stanislaus, College Art Show for a number of years.
Oliver was recognised for his musical talents, winning or being runner-up in the Piano Man Competition and the Ultimate Music Man Competition at St Stanislaus’ College on several occasions.
In 2018, Oliver began a double degree at the University of Sydney in Arts and Advanced Studies. He accepted University’s offer to become a Dalyell Scholar based on his excellent HSC results and this will entitle him to additional study options within his course.
As well as achieving excellent results at University, Oliver has thrown himself into extra-curricular life there, as a member of a number of University Societies. He is also a member of the St Johns’ College Choir and performs as part of a piano trio.
Oliver would like to establish his life and career in the Central West where he hopes to focus on the development of the local arts community, sharing his passion for literature, music and drama, while setting up initiatives that would work to reverse the decline in literacy and reading abilities.
He is interested in politics and considers it to be a possible career option which may enable him to achieve his goals for the community.
Callum completed Year 12 at La Salle Academy in 2017 and was a House Captain in his senior years. He was Dux of the school with first place in all seven of his HSC subjects and received a Premier’s Award for All-round Excellence, having achieved a Band 6 in all his subjects. Callum achieved the highest ATAR in the Bathurst Diocese and was placed first in NSW in Studies of Religion 1.
In addition to his academic prowess, Callum is an accomplished xylophone and percussion musician and held a Mitchell Conservatorium scholarship consistently for seven years prior to leaving school, four of those scholarships being the highest awarded by the Conservatorium.
He has also been awarded the Maureen Newell Memorial Award for Achievement in Music multiple times.
At the only Australian Percussion Eisteddfod in which he competed, Callum achieved first place in his division – two mallet keyboard percussion. He has participated in exclusive workshops with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Callum performed regularly at school and community events as well as for the residents of Three Tree Lodge, an aged-care facility in Lithgow.
Throughout his high school years, Callum was also involved in chess and debating with much success. He won the La Salle Chess tournament in his final year and was a member of the school’s team which was runner-up in the Western Division of the NSW Country Secondary Schools Chess competition in 2016.
He competed in the NSW Catholic Schools Debating Competition and in the Lithgow Festival of Speech every year and twice was awarded Regional NSW Champion as well as being a member of the team which won first place in the senior division in NSW in 2016.
While he was still at school, Callum also learnt karate for 10 years and competed up to a national level.
In 2018, Callum commenced his degree in Medicine at the University of NSW and has continued his academic success during the first year there.
He has also continued his community and charity involvement.
When he has completed his degree, Callum is interested in pursuing geriatric medicine or perhaps psychiatry, having been influenced by his involvement with Three Tree Lodge. As a seventh generation Lithgow resident, he has a great affinity with the Lithgow community and would be keen to establish his career there.
The Trustees have offered their warmest congratulations to Callum and Oliver and would also like to thank all the other applicants who submitted comprehensive applications for the 2019 scholarship.
Each year, the Hoskins Lithgow Scholarship offers an amount of up to $30,000 to a Lithgow Local Government Area resident who is an Australian citizen under the age of 26 to assist with a tertiary course of study.
Applications for the 2020 scholarship open on Monday, July 15, 2019. Further details regarding the scholarship and the application process are available on the Hoskins Lithgow Scholarship website, www.hoskinslithgowscholarship.org.au.
