Stepping stone to the world

Every scholarship student has a different path to studying at Macquarie and yet, what they all have in common is an undeniable sense of gratitude and the conviction they would not be where they are without the support of our generous donors. As Bailey Beattie explains, the impact of his scholarship has been nothing less than life-changing.

It has been life changing

Students from the country are usually down to earth. Big hearts, big smiles, and a way of talking about themselves that’s understated. Students like Bailey Beattie, who’s in his fourth year of a Bachelor of Business at Macquarie thanks to a regional, rural and remote scholarship.


He says he’s been very lucky and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, but as he speaks, you can’t help but feel he takes nothing for granted, and even more so, the old adage is true – luck is what happens when hard work meets opportunity. In this case, his scholarship.


After all, coming from Broken Hill in the far west of outback New South Wales, it takes a lot more than just luck to rise above the path laid out before you in a town where so many kids don’t finish school, and most end up working in the mines or taking up a trade.


Bailey’s family have been in the area for generations, running sheep and cattle stations that stretch over about 100,000 acres, but that wasn’t the life for him. He couldn’t see himself doing a trade either and didn’t want to stay in Broken Hill. ‘There’s a lot of red dirt, a couple of pubs, and not much to do,’ he says. ‘It was always my plan to move away.’


But, as for so many regional, rural and remote students, going to university isn’t really an option – it’s far away, it’s expensive, and not many people know how to navigate what’s required to move to a bigger city to study on your own. As Bailey explains, ‘Going to uni didn’t really come into the picture.’


That was until the end of Year 12, when his AFL coach and careers advisor Mr Tidball explained that dreaming of playing footy wasn’t enough – he needed to get qualified. ‘He was a realist,’ says Bailey. ‘And told me I needed to get a university degree.’


Some kids from Broken Hill do go to Adelaide for university, which is what Bailey’s mum had done, but Bailey says he longed for a fresh start. ‘Adelaide is really just an extension of Broken Hill,’ he says, and while he didn’t know anyone who’d studied in Sydney, he had become familiar with the city playing AFL in the GWS Giants Academy and had attended a few events at Macquarie University.


Inspired to make the move, Bailey decided to apply for a scholarship at Macquarie, putting everything he had into writing applications, attending interviews and getting together character references. ‘I was so desperate for help to pay my way through uni,’ he remembers. ‘And will be forever grateful for the opportunity to study under this scholarship. If I hadn’t received it, I’m certain I would not have been able to attend uni.


‘It took a massive strain off me,’ he acknowledges, adding his family was also ‘immensely relieved’ when he told them he’d received the Macquarie Dunmore Lang College Rural and Regional Scholarship. They’d been very concerned about him moving so far from home on his own and how they’d afford it, but with a full four-year scholarship covering his accommodation and pastoral care, his dream of a university education started to feel achievable.


‘It has been life-changing,’ says Bailey. I’ve had a strong support network around me and made like-minded friends. It softened the blow of moving out of home, and has been the making of me,’ he says, before adding thoughtfully, ‘There’s no place like home, but I’ve come to understand there are other places besides home – it’s changed my view of where I can go and what I can do in the world.’
With a strong work ethic, and the solid business and entrepreneurial skills instilled in him by his family, Bailey is in the final year of his degree, and his future is looking bright. ‘I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge about how a business is run and learned a lot about economics.


‘What I’ve gained most from my university experience so far, though, is that there is always more you can be learning and doing to get the best out of yourself,’ he says, and true to his word, Bailey has made the most of every opportunity that has come his way while at Macquarie, including being offered a permanent job at a residential construction company in his second year, where he now manages tradies.


Working part-time, building his experience in admin and management, he’s also studying full-time. It’s busy, but he credits being able to live in college as what has allowed him to manage both commitments and fulfil his ambitions. ‘My scholarship 100 percent changed my life plans and my future, allowing me to pursue my dreams with more intent,’ he says.


His plans beyond studying at Macquarie now include moving into a share house with friends and moving up in his current place of employment in Sydney, hopefully to a management role in line with what his degree has taught him. ‘I’ve been extremely fortunate,’ he says with genuine gratitude. ‘I am where I am now because of those who have donated to scholarships. It’s been a massive stepping-stone, and one day I hope to pay it forward so the next small-town, country kid can achieve their dreams too.’