“Griffith  was able to give me so many opportunities growing up and I cannot think of anywhere else I would want to raise my own family one day,” says Jessica Verwey, CEF’s inaugural Origin Foundation Young Achiever award winner.

A Country Education Foundation of Griffith grant recipient, Jessica moved away from home to study vet science in Wagga, but plans to return to Griffith with her fiancé and a small menagerie of animals. With a love of good food, wine, cheese and Italian restaurant nights out with friends and family, she believes the country town lifestyle can’t be beaten.

In mid-2017, Jessica graduated from Charles Sturt University with first class honours in her Bachelor of Veterinary Science/Bachelor of Veterinary Biology. She also won the 2017 Veterinary Science Medal and is the first vet science student ever to be awarded the prestigious Charles Sturt University Medal. Since then, and with a published academic article under her belt, she has spent time working in Young NSW and most recently teaching back at CSU. In 2019, she will return to clinical veterinary practice in Griffith and says, “I have loved my time teaching at the university but equally am looking forward to getting back into clinical practice”.

Jessica was proud to receive her local grant from the Country Education Foundation of Griffith in 2013. She says, “I supported myself independently throughout university and being awarded the CEF grant meant that I was able to spend less time working and allowed me to invest more time in both my studies and also being involved in my broader university community”.

She encourages young students to follow their dreams and to seek out support from organisations like CEF. She hopes past CEF grant recipients will reconnect with their stories. “I think it’s important that we support CEF and demonstrate to the next generation of students going through that, with support, country students really can achieve anything!”      

Turning 16 is a joyous time in the life of most teenagers. But for Jack Catanzariti, it was soured by a shock tragedy that sent him into a downward spiral. 

Just days after his birthday, he was at home with mum Kay when the family got a knock on the door from the police.  An officer told the family that Jack’s older brother Ben, aged 21, died when a concrete pouring boom collapsed on top of him at a Canberra building site.

“I wanted to quit school after that. I just totally lost interest,” Jack said. 

Unable to concentrate, Jack missed out on getting a tertiary entrance score. “I had some really good mates who pushed me, and helped me get through it… but when I left school, I wasn’t think of uni at all. I wanted to be a sparky”. 

Jack worked on vintage in Griffith, coached tennis and backpacked around Europe and Asia; before landing a job as a teacher’s aide at Beelbangera Public School. This was another life changing moment for Jack. Mum Kay said, “he was a natural at it… and he could see he was making a difference in the life of a young student.”

Jack decided he wanted to become a fully-fledged teacher. He applied for university and got accepted to do his bachelor’s degree at Charles Sturt. He’s now in his second year, and considered a role model to other country students. 

Two weeks ago, he gave an inspirational speech about his journey to a big crowd at Yenda Producers, when he was among 13 students to thank Griffith Country Educational Fund (GCEF) for providing them with financial assistance. 

The fund was established to help rural students, who face much higher costs than their urban counterparts. GCEF, supported by Yenda Prods and Griffith City Council, have now given grants totalling more than $100,000 to 85 local students over the past seven years. “The money [from GCEF] has been invaluable. It’s helped with uni supplies, text books and accommodation,” Jack said. 

Jack has made the most of his uni life, including doing a volunteer stint in Africa helping to build houses for disadvantaged children. “Over there, I learned that I should never complain about life in Griffith again,” he said. And it’s Griffith that he’ll always call home. “I want to come back here when I graduate, if I can. And teach in a school here”.  

That’s something the pleases mum Kay. “I’m just so proud of Jack, I get emotional about it. He could have easily gone the other way, but he’s overcome obstacles and is doing what he loves,” she said.