I grew up on a mixed enterprise farm between Finley and Jerilderie, NSW where we produce rice, wheat & canola; and run sheep & cattle. I completed the entirety of my schooling in Finley, followed by a gap year working at Rice Research Australia. I moved to Gatton, QLD, in 2022 to begin studying Agricultural Science with a major in Agronomy at the University of Queensland.
I am passionate about food and fibre sustainability and security and am interested in getting into research after my degree, such as research agronomy, plant breeding or crop pest control. I also really enjoy working with farmers and would love to have a position in the future that could help connect farmers to research.
It means a lot to me to be awarded a Horizon Scholarship and granted the opportunity to meet like-minded young people throughout all aspects of agriculture, as well as industry experts and leaders. I am most excited to make connections with people who are as passionate about Australian agriculture as I am.
While working with my sponsor Cotton Research & Development Corporation (CRDC), I’m excited to learn more about the cotton industry in general, as it’s not a crop that I’ve had a lot to do with. It’ll be exciting to potentially meet with researchers and learn more about GM cotton and how cotton varieties continue to develop, and change depending on pest and weed capabilities.