Fighting chance
Philanthropy, the generosity of people towards others, is making a real and dramatic difference to lives at Monash University.
For some, like 19 year old student Nergis Alsan, it means the chance to overcome a decade of adversity and fulfil her dream to be a surgeon.
For much of her life Nergis and her family have been the target of racial persecution. Born 19 years ago into a Kurdish farming community at Diyarbakir, in south eastern Turkey, her lasting childhood memories are of trauma and violence.
She and her family frequently moved cities and countries to escape the implications of her ethnic background. She finally arrived as an 11 year old in Australia in 2001, to be immediately given refugee status and the chance to put the past behind her.
And the best way to do that, Nergis knew, was through education. Displaying all the character traits that continue today -- a single-minded determination and a piercing intelligence -- she began her long journey to be a surgeon.
"Ever since I was a child I dreamt of being a surgeon," Nergis said. "I thought it was the best way to help people and make a change. It is not much I know, but it is my way of how I can help."
When she started school in Melbourne at Year seven, Nergis's English language skills were limited to counting up to 10. Over the next six years she balanced myriad challenges: a busy home life as the eldest child supporting her family; moves between houses and suburbs in Melbourne; several hours of public transport just to get to school; mastering a new language, staying focused, and studying hard to gain an ENTER in the low 90s.
It was enough to earn her entry to a prestigious Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences where she is now in her second year of study.
"Nergis is an amazing young woman, I am really proud of her," said mentor Andrew Evans, the Faculty Manager for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. "She really is an inspiration. She has the drive and determination to try to achieve her goals and live her dreams."
It is a passion to succeed that the University is similarly determined to support. A nun who supports the family alerted University staff to her story, fearful a daily four-hour round trip of public transport across the city to and from her home could prove impossible.
Now Nergis is the recipient of a $10,000 faculty scholar's bursary funded through philanthropy. She lives on campus, can buy text books and has mentors and other support in place so she can focus on her study, eventually transferring to a medical degree if she can.
"It will make it easier to reach my goals and makes me more determined to keep going," she said of the philanthropic support. "It might be a long journey, but it is about getting to that point no matter what. I will get there eventually," she said.
"Universities need to make sure people get a fair go," said Andrew Evans.
"Wherever we have the chance we should allow people to reach their full capacity, bettering themselves and their family, but also allowing them to give back to the community as well.
"Nergis has bold ambitions and we have an obligation to encourage and support that."
The faculty wants to create a $5 million endowment to support Nergis and more students like her. It will be philanthropy, the generosity of others, which will make fundamental differences to the lives of these students and their families.
Visit the Monash+ website for more information about philanthropy at Monash.