Powell scholarship winner has community at heart

CAPRICE Baillie already has her community at heart, and the 2022 Powell Legacy Fund school scholarship will help to cement her association with the Timboon region.

Administered by the DemoDAIRY Foundation, 18-year-old Caprice will receive $10,000 over the next three years after being accepted into a Bachelor of Primary and Secondary Education at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne.
“It was my top preference, so I was thrilled and keen to get going,” she said.

Ms Baillie will use the scholarship to pay her rental bond and help with rent over the next three years.

“I’ve never lived in Melbourne and haven’t been there much so I’m quite nervous, but I’ve got my accommodation organised only 15 minutes from the university and the scholarship will be a massive help; my parents were very relieved,” said Caprice.

Caprice first heard about the scholarship at school and then found out more through her role as a volunteer firefighter with the Timboon Fire Brigade.

Her contribution as a firefighter is the latest in a long history of community contributions, including volunteering at a Christian outreach program in 2019 and in tree planting after the St Patricks Day bushfires and a beach clean-up around Port Campbell and Peterborough.

Caprice was joint captain of the Timboon Demons female football team prior to COVID-19 and has juggled four different part-time jobs to help support her move to university.

Caprice, who grew up in the region and has strong family dairy farming and community connections, plans to return to the Timboon region to teach. “This will give me the opportunity to give back to my community, through providing education to future students and creating a greater sense of purpose and belonging,” Caprice said.

For more information about scholarships visit https://www.demodairy.com.au/scholarships-and-grants/ or from DDF board member Ian Teese on 0427 358 987.