THE inaugural Zonta Club of Mitchell study grant has been awarded to Broadford Secondary School student Evie Birks.
The club has 14 members who say no to violence against women and girls and yes to advancing equality and education opportunities for all Year 10 girls with aspirations to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Previously the study grant recipient was randomly selected by its members. However, this year students were asked to self-nominate and then meet with three local Zonta members on their inaugural interview panel.
Evie learnt about the opportunity via the school compass portal and applied for the $1000 study grant to assist her with senior school studies.
“I really want to go to university and study a bachelor of commerce and I’m not sure what to major in, maybe marketing,” she said.
“It is important that everyone gets the opportunity to learn about STEM. Lots of STEM is very male dominated I’d say, so the more women in there the better.
“There is equal opportunity [here at school]. I can take the same subjects as anyone, and I have the same opportunities.
“Equal opportunity can be limited for women in sporting clubs as certain age groups only have men’s teams.
“I really like Zonta as a club, I like their goals, their values and everything they try to do in the community.”
Evie will buy a new laptop to start her VCE journey.
In Evie’s eyes, sportspeople that role model good behaviours are Kathy Freeman, Ash Barty and Issac Heeney.
“They are powerful, have done really well for themselves and I respect them.
“My mum is one of my main role models, too. She is in a male-dominated field in her work and she does really well … she is a wine maker.”
