After reading about another donor who had created their own scholarship, RMIT alumnus Silvia Tejedor decided to create a scholarship of her own, by leaving a bequest in her Will.
Like Silvia, many donors choose to leave a gift to RMIT in their will, called a bequest. Bequests can fund scholarships, prizes, support research or campus development, depending on the wishes of the donor.
"Now I'm at a stage of my life where I'd like to contribute something towards RMIT, particularly to encourage girls to do electronics, science or engineering," says Silvia. "At the moment I don't have the amount of money on hand to give to a scholarship, but I know when I die there will be some money which my husband and my children will inherit. So I made a bequest in my will to put aside a little of that money to create a scholarship."
The scholarship is Silvia's way of giving back to RMIT and to continue her legacy. "I did come from a poor background, and I made a better life thanks to the facilities, education and people here in Australia. So I want to give back. I think it's very important that we all do that," she says.
I hope my passion for education lives on. I hope whoever receives the scholarship or prize will then do the same for someone else too.