Regional youth in the state of Victoria lack the same opportunities and supports as their city peers, resulting in significantly lower university admission rates.
In 2018, Melbourne-based La Trobe University stepped in to bridge this divide through its Regional Pathways Program, which offers programming in high schools surrounding four of its regional campuses to equip and encourage students to pursue post-secondary education. This effort changed the trajectories of hundreds of students: in some high schools, university admission rates have increased from up to 15% to up to 70%.
With an AUD 1 million gift from the McCall MacBain Foundation, La Trobe is now building the PEAK Scholars Program, a comprehensive scholarship program that will support graduates of the Regional Pathways Program who demonstrate community engagement and leadership potential to attend university.
The PEAK (Pathways to Education and Knowledge) Scholars Program will make 100 scholarships available over 4 years for regional students, offering financial and wrap-around supports, including mentorship, leadership development, skill-building, networking, industry connections, community-building, and a chance to undertake community projects.
PEAK unlocks an essential opportunity for regional students, many of whom are first in their families to attend university, to not just pursue higher education but also access programming to build their ability and confidence to positively impact their communities
Having supported the expansion of the Regional Pathways Program in 2023 and a small pilot of the PEAK scholarships, we are excited to support La Trobe in scaling up the PEAK Scholars Program to offer more opportunities to talented regional students.
Read more about the program here: https://www.latrobe.edu.au/philanthropy/why-give/university-for-all/regional-pathways-program