From isolation to innovation

Bethany Greenwood embodies resilience and ambition. Raised in a “high demand” religious environment in Queensland, she was taught not to expect too much from life. But one day she came across a video that planted a seed that led her to make the bold decision to leave home and follow her own path.

“I was watching a YouTube video about the way that cities are designed around bike riding in the Netherlands,” she says. “As a kid I had to ride my bike because we lived in the middle of nowhere and my parents wouldn’t drive me anywhere. It was through this video that I realised there was an actual job that planned and designed infrastructure like this.”

From that moment, Bethany was determined to visit the Netherlands. No one in her family had ever travelled to Europe before and she had no financial support, so she came up with a plan.

Bethany left home at 19 and initially enrolled in an engineering degree in Brisbane but she soon realised it wasn’t a good fit for her. During the Covid-19 lockdowns she was studying full-time and working up to 50 hours a week.

I dropped out of my engineering degree, moved to Melbourne and enrolled in the Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning (Honours) at RMIT. I knew that the only way I was going to get to the Netherlands was to go on an exchange through uni.

Bethany really wanted the “full university experience” and decided to apply for a scholarship so she didn’t have to work as many hours and could throw herself into university life. She chose The George Alexander Foundation (GAF) scholarship, which is for bachelor degree students with academic ability, leadership potential, and a passion for community involvement. The scholarship is worth $8,000 annually for two years.

“I was hesitant to apply because I had self-doubt. I thought ‘I'm not the kind of person that gets a scholarship because I’ve never been given anything before’. I'm not the brightest person in my course.

“But I’ve always had a passion for the community, it's me at my core and I keep accidentally ending up in leadership roles,” she laughs.

Bethany is the 2025 secretary of the RMIT Urban Planning Society (RUPS) and is active in the transport industry through her role as a Transport Australia Society (TAs) student representative.

She also volunteers for Holden Street Neighbourhood House, which helped her with groceries when she first moved to Melbourne and was struggling to afford food.

“I do little tasks like helping them write the trivia for their fundraiser. They do a sausage sizzle at Bunnings so I check the Bunnings equipment and make sure that nothing got stolen or that they have enough sauce for the next one. I also fix the internet and play cards with the old ladies,” she says.

I love it and it fills the need for community that I miss from when I was growing up – but in a healthier way.

Receiving the GAF scholarship for the final two years of her degree has been transformative for Bethany and has enabled her to realise her dream of going on exchange to the Netherlands in the second half of 2025.

“I’ve put the first $8000 payment of scholarship money towards my trip and the second payment will help support me while I’m doing my thesis next year. I really want to do well academically, and it will be nice to enjoy learning without having to work as much. Learning is a privilege, but we live in a society, and I’ve got to pay rent,” she says.

After she graduates, Bethany would like to work for a local council because she is passionate about the way well-designed built environments serve community needs and foster human connection.

But she says she’s open to exploring all opportunities. “I've always been interested in the transport side, but I just love all of it now. That's the beauty of it; you can and should work in as many niches as you can because it makes you a better planner.”