Meet the new Katrina Dawson Scholars!

We are delighted to introduce you to our 2026 Scholars – Violet FitzSimons and Abbie Correll – our first scholars to benefit from the increased scholarship amount that we introduced late last year. This takes our total number of KDF scholarships given out to 29.

L to R: Abbie Correll and Violet FitzSimons

Abbie and Violet join Zoe Weddin, Hayley Fraser and Lily Heraghty at Women’s College this year and are wonderful additions to the KDF Scholar ‘family’. Read more about Abbie and Violet below.

Violet's Personal Statement:

"As of December 5th, 2025, I am a proud arsonist.

When I finished my very last HSC exam, I set about cleansing my room of schoolwork like I was exorcising an evil spirit. With gusto, I hauled every scrap of writing I’d accumulated down to the firepit.

Burning my Gold Duke of Edinburgh would be more difficult. First of all, it’s a badge. Secondly, it’s Gold, and I wanted this to be symbolic, not borderline alchemy. Anyway, my Duke of Ed can’t be burnt; it was a fever dream of horrendous blisters and freeze-dried butter chicken that will always stay with me.

I’m one of the lucky students. I was lucky enough to realise I had to make my own luck.

I topped English Advanced, Extension 1 and 2, Modern History, Ancient History and History Extension. I also got to indulge my love Latin in my own time. Those notes embodied how deeply I care about what I love, my unwavering determination to do myself, and those subjects proud.

And yet, I let them burn.

Because what mattered was the little box that was left untouched on my bookshelf. It’s stuffed full of flash cards. All different colours and sizes, my handwriting shrinking from that of a sloppy five-year-old to a tired, slightly less sloppy year 12 student.

Speeches on the vitality of financial literacy for women in rural areas, the necessity of reading the news to foster empathy, the importance of gender fluid inclusivity in bathrooms. They too were landmarks of successes I’d always dreamed of – still stained with sweat from winning the Plain English State Championship and the Premier’s Debate Challenge. (This is not symbolic sweat, this is literal sweat, I have sweaty hands). I also took home the gold in the National Ethics Olympiad, with dry, ethical hands.

However, unlike a badge or a notebook, those speeches embody who I am. The girl shaped by the hiking, the studying, the community service, the sport – all of which I had once deemed convenient tick boxes for success. The girl who, after getting every shiny medal she wanted, realised the prize for seeking perfection wasn’t the tick boxes, it was the person she’d become.

Someone who was determined to speak up for others and was good at it. Just like everything else I loved, I poured my soul into public speaking. I’ve spent 10 years perfecting the craft, wanting to do justice to that art form I’d always admired.

But from the mountaintop of competitive success, I felt sick to my stomach. There I was, holding up medals for advocating on others’ behalf. I was benefiting from the fact that most people were terrified of public speaking, or didn’t have the resources to master it. I could set fire to all the speeches I’d ever written, and the world would be the same. It didn’t feel good enough.

I knew oration was a vital life skill, to speak up for yourself in the playground, at work, in court, or to defend your human rights. It was bigger than my tiny town in rural Australia, bigger than the competitions I coveted.

And so, at 13, I founded Grow Your Voice (https://www.growurvoice.com). It’s a nonprofit that has helped children around the world gain confidence through public speaking. My platform offers low-pressure, easy-to-understand lessons designed to build confidence and communication skills in a supportive environment.

I poured my own hard-earned money into purchasing the domain, doggedly working through structuring classes, responding to feedback, and marketing the project to schools and students via social media and email marketing campaigns. It was at times exhausting and often disappointing to see the disinterest of my local schools in adopting the program. But I persisted, focusing instead upon the users popping up in America, Africa, China and Europe.

Now, I’ve run the site for half a decade, founded upon the simple principle that every child should be raised to know that their voice matters, and it’s important they learn to use it well.

In 2025, I became the first Australian to win the Raoul Wallenberg Young Courage Award for my work removing financial and social barriers so that young people can be heard. I had the honour of flying to Stockholm to accept the prize, meeting 10 other winners from across the globe. Winners like Miriam, who started a reusable pad nonprofit to combat menstrual shame in Tanzania. Leia, who mandated Holocaust education in Canada. I was surrounded by drive identical to my own, talent turned into impact. Meagre resources surmounted by passion and integrity.

I learned that my work was powerful. That the courage to step up so that others can too isn’t common, but it’s vital, and it can be fostered in young people in all corners of the globe.

Now more than ever, I’m driven to uplift the voices of others, to empower young people across the world to speak up and to speak well. Today, that looks like running my nonprofit.

In 10 years, that will look like defending my clients in court as a Barrister, changing Australia’s legislation to better protect women in business, finance and marriage, as I hope to transition into politics as my career progresses.

A Sydney Law Degree would be an incredible launchpad for this. Allowing me the connections, knowledge and skill to enhance my career, alongside my ability to amplify others’ voices.

So, on December 5th of 2025, I am indeed an arsonist. But I am also an activist, a changemaker, a hard worker, a dedicated student and cultivator of community.

I am Violet FitzSimons, and I’ve already made an impact on the world, but I’m hungry to do more. I would love the opportunity of attending Women’s College, to make that ‘more’ happen.  On December 5th of 2025, with this scholarship, following in the footsteps of Katrina, I know that impact will have become larger than I could ever imagine. Something no fire could erase.

I hope you can help me become this woman."

Abbie's Personal Statement:

"‘The girl from Bendigo with an identical twin sister’ is how I’ve branded myself to the new people I meet at Sydney University.

In truth, for most of my high school years, I was a 35 minute drive from Bendigo; ‘Knowsley’. The heart of the town was a tennis court, a polkadot house, and a CFA. Most of my teenage years were getting home an hour and a half after school ended, to a pet family of cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, dogs and horses. Whilst I couldn’t quite master studying on the shaky bus, I completed my Year 11 with 6 subjects, including a Certificate III in Equine Studies.

The journey from school to home expanded in Year 11, every Wednesday I would leave class in Bendigo early to make the three-hour journey to the Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES) in Melbourne. Mastering the art of homework on the rumbling train, I worked towards the rigorous subject, VCE Extended Investigation, an entirely self-led, independently researched question with a 4,000 word thesis and 20 minute oral defence; 'how does internalised ageism impact the quality of life for those above the age of 65 in Victoria?' The Age Attitudes Survey received over 300 survey respondents, prompting five focus groups throughout regional and metropolitan Victoria - from Warrnambool to Croydon - to unpack the pervasive nature of ageism. I was stunned at how appreciative they were that a ‘young one’ would travel up to six and a half hours one way to visit them. I was grateful for how honest they answered my endless questions.

The report was placed equal third in the entire state of Victoria and received the CHES Community Award - but it was far more than the score at the end of it. Throughout my journey I received emails containing images of wedding dresses juxtaposed to poems that vividly recounted medical ageist abuse. All of a sudden an issue that I thought was so far away - as a ‘young’ person without grandparents - was an inescapable reality right infront of me. The following year I delivered a speech about Internalised Ageism in the Plain English Speaking Awards, arguing that we must celebrate ageing rather than try to hide it, because not everyone gets the privilege of growing older. I’ve continued public speaking, representing my district in Year 12 Debating StateFinals, First Year Moot, and Women's Moot Semi-Finals, achieving Ninth Best Oralist. Emboldened by the hours of conversations with research participants, I’ve learned that one of the best mechanisms for change is not just ‘speaking out’; it’s listening.

Obsessed with the dream that Australia is the country for having a ‘fair go’, I want to help make this a reality at every chance we can get. During my Year 12, I participated in the World’s Greatest Shave and raised over$1600 for Leukemia research, donating approximately 40cm of my hair in the process. I was a student representative on the CHES school council, and member of my schools’ Environmental Committee. I’m driven by the belief that any small action is still a step in the right direction, and if you do not start stepping you won’twalk anywhere! I also took accelerated law units at LaTrobe University, achieving a High Distinction WAM, and a letter of Commendation from the Dean, who invited me to speak on a podcast about study skills. I advised that if you truly believe in the positive impact you can make with your studies, it is far easier to succeed academically.

In taking my own advice, at the end of 2024 I was awarded a 99.05 ATAR - the Dux of my school, including a perfect raw 50 study score in English Language. I moved to the University of Sydney as a Dalyell Scholar, knowing practically no one, to pursue my two academic passions through a Bachelor of Laws/Arts (Linguistics). I’ve followed my love of linguistics by accelerating all core linguistics units this year, and will be continuing research through a Dalyell Research Project next year!

I have joined the Young Vinnies Society this year, including raising money for homeless people in the Winter Sleepout, and sought further environmentally-conscious initiatives through a subcommittee role in WasteFighters Society.

I aspire to make a long-term impact by volunteering with the Regional Education Support Network, providing free tutoring and support to regional students who, like me, otherwise could not afford it. Transferring from the School Partnerships Lead to the Director of External Operations, as well as a volunteer VCE English Language tutor, I’ve managed communications with 10 Partner Schools, delivered in-person seminars, andhelped the roll-out of University Open Days. Finding it non-negotiable to meet these students, I’ve presented seminars and held discussions in places from Wagga to Seymour, Myrtleford to Ulladulla. A bigthing I’ve learnt is that I like trains. Cheaper? Yes. But they don’t just save money, they ground your perspective, both literally and metaphorically. Regionality is not a monolith, the extra-mile to understand their circumstances fully not only allows for more tailored assistance, but principally demonstrates that a regionalstudent's education is ‘worth it.’ I have lived in the shoes of many of these students. I am the first in my familyto attend University, from a Regional Government school and raised by a single-mother. However, when a student in a seminar questioned; ‘Can I use my phone because I don’t have a laptop at home?’ It was a starkcheck of my comparative privilege. Taking the time to understand where the barriers are, is one of the first steps to a more equitable Australia.

I have yet to refine exactly what I want my future career path to look like. I simultaneously dream of staying in academia to research law or linguistics, becoming an environmental lawyer, or advocate for social justice by becoming a Barrister. No matter where I end up, I want to make change for good."