From parents and foundations to old scholars and staff, those who support Wilderness come from many different backgrounds. What they share is a belief in Wilderness’ mission and a commitment to advancing it. Two particular examples of this support are expressed through both the Mary Ann Matthews Fellowship and the Catherine Ye Teacher Fellowship.

The Mary Ann Matthews Fellowship was established in memory of the dearly loved Matthews family matriarch, a medical practitioner who was passionate about education through experience. Each year, the Fellowship is awarded to a Wilderness girl who will undertake a project or placement to broaden her perspective of the world. This year, through the generosity of the Matthews family, I am delighted to announce that Anesha Rahman and Himara Jayasundra have been awarded the Fellowship, which will launch them upon a lifechanging adventure.

Anesha plans to volunteer with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy in Munt Gibson Sanctuary, Western Australia and Himara will volunteer with HAGAR in Melbourne, undertaking project work with women and children who have survived slavery and trafficking. Well done to both girls for submitting incredibly worthy applications amidst a very competitive pool of applicants.

The Catherine Ye Teacher Fellowship was established to provide exceptional educational opportunities to Wilderness School’s teaching staff through financial provision for research/study projects outside the School’s regular professional learning program. The Fellowship is made available through the generous support of the Ye family in acknowledgement of the remarkable pastoral care their daughter Catherine (2013) received while she was at Wilderness.

I am thrilled to announce that this year the Fellowship will be awarded to two recipients: Melissa Foster and Shane Hill. Melissa plans to undertake a Master of Education (Reading and Literacy) at Torrens University and looks forward to contributing to the Literacy program at Wilderness through best practice underpinned by research based evidence. Shane will undertake a Professional Certificate in Instructional Leadership and several other graduate microcredentials at the University of Melbourne. He hopes to develop his skills and knowledge to support pedagogical advancement through capabilities driven curricula at Wilderness. Congratulations to both Melissa and Shane on their impressive achievement!