Hanadi Hoblos is a self-confessed science nerd. She’s also a fearless young woman who won't take no for an answer!

Hanadi’s obsession with ‘all things science’ started even before High School. She spent endless hours looking at the patterns in nature. It was all she could think about. After leaving year 12, Hanadi started a degree in Life Sciences at Monash University – a dream come true.

However, while Hanadi’s love affair with science blossomed, her home life was at breaking point. Determined not to let anything stand in her way, Hanadi took matters into her own hands, making the brave decision to move out, get a place of her own and start a new life.

“There were times when things were bleak, I felt isolated, alone and tired but I knew I couldn’t give up”

In 2017, Hanadi received a scholarship from the Foundation. This meant instead of working as a waitress or tutoring to make ends meet, she could focus on staring down a microscope.

“When I’m looking down the microscope, it’s like I’m seeing the world at a completely different scale. With the fluorescent light beaming through a very dark room, it sometimes feels as if I have transcended into some other worldly place”.

Hanadi’s dedication has paid off and in a MASSIVE WAY! Late last year, her research placed in the top 10 at the Australasian Conference in the Life Sciences category - pretty special considering 7,000 submissions were made from undergraduates worldwide!

Following this success, Hanadi is soon to start a four-month internship at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany to study under a world-leading expert in Electron Microscopy. This is a huge opportunity! She will stand where brilliant Nobel prize winning scientists have been, further cementing her aspirations.

Come July, she will head back to Australia to start a Masters in Bioinformatics, in preparation for her PhD.

“The year I got the support of the Layne Beachley Foundation was the year I took the first real steps to becoming a young scientist. They gave me the moral and financial support I needed to put myself out there. I also realised that I am not alone in this exciting journey”.

Hanadi has shifted from ‘survival mode’ and is now flourishing professionally and personally. She’s also committed to paying it forward by mentoring other young women from low socio-economic backgrounds and talking to high school students about what it looks like to pursue a science career.

“I love sharing what I do with students because they learn science from textbooks but when you engage them their reaction is, ‘that’s so cool’. Real science is much more than reading chunks of information”.

Article: Rebecca Le Bas I Blogger & Freelancer

At first glance, Sam Suendermann looks like your typical, blonde-haired, laid-back surfer BUT there’s more to this former competitive long-boarder than meets the eye.

Growing up in a small coastal town in Victoria, the 2017 Aim for the Stars scholarship recipient fell in love with the ocean and the lifestyle that it offered. She felt lucky to grow up in a beautiful environment, surrounded by a supportive network of family and friends .

From an early age, Sam was aware that not everyone had the same opportunities as her. She involved herself in programs that encouraged Indigenous groups, bush fire survivors and at-risk teens to jump on a board. She saw first-hand how surfing could unite people, increase self-confidence and generate self-belief.

Despite enjoying all the creature comforts of home, Sam felt a greater purpose in making waves of change overseas. She hung up her board, hopped on a plane and volunteered in Fiji and Mexico.

Spurred on by these experiences, Sam based herself in Vanuatu and co-founded Solwota Sista in July 2016. The organisation works alongside local women and girls to create a better future through surfing and access to skill development.

Along with a team of young Ni-Vanuatu surfers, Sam has delivered over ten surfing and water safety programs throughout the island archipelago. She implemented Vanuatu’s first surfing day for people with a disability, organised Vanuatu’s largest and wealthiest professional surfing event and continued to develop female inclusion and standard of surfing.

Furthermore, she’s established a surfing conservation program, including coral reef awareness and coral re-planting.

The program also addresses the significant issue of domestic violence in the region, an area often overshadowed by its more well-known and developed Pacific Island siblings.

“My goal is to have local females eventually run the program. I want to build capacity through on-going training, so women learn to lead and have access to better employment opportunities”.

Through Solwota Sista, Sam provides coaching around first aid and ocean safety, enterprise development, women and girls leadership, photography techniques, coral planting and plastic pollution reduction, all of which are not easily accessible in Vanuatu.

Thanks to your kind donations, Sam has been able to cover the cost of multiple all female surf, leadership and skill development programs run throughout the 83 island archipelago, while employing young Ni-Vanuatu women as project officers.

The grant Sam’s received is not only benefiting her, it is helping everyone involved in Solwota Sista. She’s empowering women and encouraging them to become leaders in their own community.

To support women making waves of change, make a donation today.

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If you have a dream and need some help achieving it, why not apply for next year’s scholarship? Applications open in February 2018 but you can add your name to the email list here. We'll let you know when things get underway.

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Hi there,

My name’s Nipuni or Nip for short. I received a scholarship this year to grow GG’s Flowers, a social enterprise florist and gift hamper business I founded. We provide meaningful employment for people with special needs.

Let me tell you how this opportunity has not only helped me, my sister AND some of the country’s most vulnerable people.