The Aurora Education Foundation Study Tour to the US

We were delighted to continue our partnership with the Aurora Education Foundation, helping support five wonderful women go on the 2026 International Study Tour to the United States: Angel Hayward (a proud Noongar woman based in Perth); Cianna Walker (a proud Gumbaynggirr and Walbunja/Yuin woman from Sydney); Luca Codi Sawyer (a proud Wiradjuri woman from Sydney); Ronnella Onyeajum (a proud Kaanju, Barrunggam and Kuku Yalangi woman from Brisbane); and Shahnaz Rind (a proud Badimia woman from Mount Magnet in WA). All women have aspirations to do postgraduate study that would help them make a meaningful difference in their communities in fields ranging from education to public health to economic development.

Read some of their personal reflections from the 2026 International Study Tour below:

“The experience at U of A gave me a lot more clarity around the academic and career direction I want to pursue, particularly in areas of governance, policy, and community-led development. Tucson itself also really grew on me — both the community and the environment made a strong impression, and it’s now somewhere I would genuinely consider returning to.”

 – Cianna Walker reflecting on the first leg of the tour in Arizona. 

“Getting to know the Alumni students and the one-on-one meetings allowed me to learn more about myself and what moving/expectations looked like. I can see myself living in New York City and studying at the University of Columbia as the course really fits my vision and what I’d like to achieve.” 

– Shahnaz Rind reflecting on her experience in New York City. 

“I was able to attend a Mergers and Acquisitions class at the Harvard Business School and a Nation Building class run through the Harvard Kennedy School. Being able to sit in the rooms where big decisions have been made. To see the ripple effect that these places have had on the world was amazing. Never in my life would I have thought a young Noongar girl who grew up on the south side of the river in Perth, Western Australia, would be considering applying for an MBA overseas.”

 – Angel Hayward on her time visiting Harvard during the Study Tour.