Two Griffith undergraduate students have been awarded bursaries towards their studies from the National Council of Women Queensland (NCWQ).
Bachelor of Dental Technology/Bachelor of Prosthetics student Emilia Mugford has received the NCWQ Regional Bursary while Bachelor of Film and Screen Media Production student Nadya de Vos has been given the Soroptimist International Moreton North Inc (SIMNI) Bursary.
Dentist-in-training has her sights set on Kings College
Emilia relocated from her hometown of Toowoomba to start her studies at Griffith’s Gold Coast Campus this year and said she had a very clear plan for her dentistry career.
“I want to undertake post graduate studies in a Masters in Maxillofacial and Craniofacial Technology at Kings College in London,” she said.
“I see great opportunities in the dental technology field both in terms of future career options, both as an employee or as an owner of a practice.”
It wasn’t always so, with Emilia making the switch to dentistry after earlier considering and being accepted into Biomedicine, also at Griffith.
“My original tertiary study plan of Biomedicine was driven by my mother and her treatment for abrain tumour in 2016 which heightened my interest particularly in the brain,” Emilia shared.
“At the end of year 12 I was accepted into Biomedicine on the Gold Coast but chose to complete a gap year to assist in funding my studies. Fortunately, I was able to obtain work at an Orthodontist and after working there I started to gain an interest in the dentistry field.”
Emilia said the bursary will allow her to purchase of dental technology instruments, ensuring she completes the laboratory and clinical requirements of her course.
Despite being in just her first year, she has also been appointed to the Griffith University Dental Students’ Association Committee.
Student film-maker overwhelmed by support
Third year student Film and Screen Media student Nadya de Vos became emotional at hearing she’d been awarded the SIMNI bursary.
“It may sound corny, but upon finding out I had received the bursary, tears actually sprung to my eyes because this money alleviates some of the pressure of funding our film entirely by ourselves”
“It may sound corny, but upon finding out I had received the bursary, tears actually sprang to my eyes because this money alleviates some of the pressure of funding our film entirely by ourselves,” she said.
As part of her degree, Nadya is producing a post-apocalyptic short drama called Beacon, a film which explores how the youngest of two sisters must embrace a rare ability to channel electricity to protect the pair from destructive raiders.
Nadya said the Beacon team contains many passionate core female members working alongside the female Producer Director team and combats a severe lack of strong female role models in the film industry, imagining a brighter future in screen inclusivity.
The bursary will help support production design, locations, film gear rental, stunt-coordination, special-effects makeup, costumes, catering, travel, music and film festival entry fees.
“Despite all the crazy turns this year has taken, my crew’s goal to realise our project to the best of our ability has not changed,” Nadya said.
“We can’t wait to share the final movie with our very generous sponsors NCWQ and SIMNI, as well as the rest of the Griffith cohort!”
As part of her studies, the 20-year-old has already created promotional videos for Endeavour Foundation and the Vietnamese social-enterprise Hope Box.
Once she graduates, Nadya is hoping to launch a production house to help local arts-and-tech-oriented businesses and social enterprises recover from COVID-19 through fun, educational and inspiring documentary short films.
Griffith Honours College helps inspiring students like Nadya and Emilia access local, national and global bursary and scholarship opportunities.
Last year’s recipient of a NCWQ bursary, Anna Twomey, who is also studying Film and Screen Media, has recently been nominated for a New Colombo Plan scholarship.
The National Council of Women of Queensland Inc (NCWQ) is a non-party-political, non-sectarian, not-for-profit, umbrella organisation with broadly humanitarian and educational objectives. It seeks to raise the awareness of members as to their rights and responsibilities as citizens and encourages their participation in all aspects of community life.