Lily Jones’ dream of moving to Melbourne to study remained out of reach until she received the Sir William Tyree Engineering Scholarship.
Lily, from Bendigo, is not afraid of hard work. At 13 she started umpiring netball games. At 14, she discovered a talent for house painting when she helped her mum renovate their home after a flood – and that led to decorating jobs for family and friends.
The following year she picked up part-time jobs at a service station and at the Central Deborah Gold Mine. She even completed a stint as a Christmas elf.
But despite all her efforts to save, she knew that she would need some extra help when she started university.
"I’ve always worked but mum is not in a financial place to support me." She said. "I always knew if I was going to live in Melbourne I would need to be on scholarship."
Lily applied for several different scholarships at RMIT but was aware of the stiff competition she faced.
So she was overjoyed when, as she finished a 5am to 1pm shift at the service station one day, she learned she’d been chosen for the prestigious Sir William Tyree Engineering Scholarship.
Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace) student, Lily Jones.
I sat in my car crying tears of joy because I knew that having this scholarship would mean my life as a student would be so much less stressful.
“I called mum and she cried on the phone too. It was such a relief.”
In the first semester of her Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace) course, Lily stayed in Bendigo as she only had to come to campus two days a week. The brutal commute meant she was out of the house from 5am to 10pm on uni days.
But in 2023 she made the move to student accommodation in Melbourne, using the scholarship money to cover her costs.
“Without the scholarship, I would still be living in Bendigo or well outside of the city in a place that wasn’t as safe.”
“I can live without the pressure of working a full-time job to pay for rent and living expenses, and can walk to uni, rather than living at home and travelling almost three hours on public transport to get to classes each day.”
The impact on her studies has been immense. “I can devote more time to studying, and in turn actually enjoy what I am learning, instead of stressing about getting all of my work done in time,” she said.
Lily has her sights set on a career in space engineering and through the scholarship, she’s had the opportunity to meet leading researchers in the field.
“It’s been so much more than I imagined. I am so incredibly grateful.”
Robyn Fennell, Chair, Sir William Tyree Foundation, said: “We are so pleased to be philanthropically supporting aspiring RMIT students across a range of engineering fields.
“Our focus is enabling opportunities for Lily and her fellow Sir William Tyree scholarship recipients to realise their ambitions and advance the profession of engineering in Australia.”
