FORMER Great Lakes College student David Llewellyn has just been accepted into one of the most prestigious clubs in NSW. So exclusive, he was the only member to join this year, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Malcolm Turnbull, Kim Beasley and Bob Hawke. No, he didn’t join a political party – he was awarded the 2010 NSW Rhodes Scholarship.
Competing against 48 other applicants from across the state, David made it through to the final 12 and was interviewed by seven judges at Government House who appointed him a Rhodes Scholar.
Technically this means he is an outstanding achiever across a spectrum of fields, mainly academic, social and sporting.
“It’s been a pretty big surprise,” he said.
Described by his mother, Gillian Courtice, as an “all-rounder”, David was selected not just for his academic prowess but his involvement in social committees, sporting groups and contribution to the community.
“It’s wonderful and we’re all really pleased. It’s a feather in the cap for the whole community,” she said.
The 2005 Dux of Great Lakes College, he received a 99.3 UAI and represented Australia twice that year in international kayaking tournaments.
Four years on, the 22-year-old has just finished his Science Honours at the University of Sydney, researching the slow spread of cane toads across Northern Australia and their immune responses to disease related control strategies.
Principal of Great Lakes College Stephen Nicholas said he is the most capable student he’s come across in 35 years of teaching.
“We’re very proud to know that we’ve played a little part in a much bigger thing.”
He said David’s success was an example to students from across the area that there is no limit to what they can achieve.
Something David hoped for as well.
“That’s one of the first things I thought when it was announced – that people I was competing against had been studying at private schools in Sydney their whole lives. But a kid from Forster who went to a public school was able to achieve it,” David said.
“I hope it is an example to everyone from Forster and regional areas that it is possible.”
He said his upbringing may have even swayed the judges to select him over his Sydney counterparts.
“For me growing up in Forster has shaped enormously who I am, for the interview panel I think it was something a bit different as well, something they hadn’t seen before.”
As part of the scholarship David will travel to Oxford next year where he will study a Doctorate in Philosophy in a laboratory run by Professor Adrian Hill, a world leader in immunology and vaccine development.
He hopes to aid in research that will one day find a cure for malaria.
What is the Rhodes Scholarship?
o Rhodes Scholarships were created under the will of Cecil John Rhodes, the British colonial pioneer and statesman, who died in 1902. He left his fortune to establish the scholarships, selection for which was to be based on qualities of character as well as on intellect.
o Applicants are assessed on their literary and scholastic attainments, qualities of maturity, truthfulness, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship; physical vigour, as shown by fondness for or success in outdoor activities; and the exhibition of moral force of character and of instincts to public duties as their highest aim.
o Scholarship recipients are invited to study at Oxford University in the field of their choice.
o The first Australian Rhodes Scholars took up residence in Oxford in 1904, and since that time more than 500 Australians have been selected. They have pursued a variety of careers, with public service, academic life, business, medicine and the law their most common vocations.
Source: The University of Sydney
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