TRINITY TODAY 29 THANKING OUR DONORS For third-year student Reegan Quick, college would have been an unattainable dream without the support of generous scholarship donors like Roger Riordan. Now Reegan is taking Roger’s wishes forward, helping young people address social impact issues. BACK BY EMILY McAULIFFE Reegan Quick’s involvement with Trinity goes back to his high school days when he participated in the college’s Young Leaders Program (YLP). ‘I applied to attend through a high school scholarship program and got in,’ says Reegan. ‘Through that program I was able to come to Trinity and see what college was like and got a taste for academic life too.’ Prior to that he admits to never having heard of a residential college, let alone Trinity. Unfortunately, having discovered colleges existed, the associated fees weren’t something he or his family could afford. But Reegan had learnt about Trinity’s scholarship program during his week at YLP, so knew college life wasn’t necessarily out of reach. He went on to successfully secure a scholarship, not fully realising then the impact it would have on his life. ‘I know it sounds clichéd, but coming to Trinity has literally been life changing,’ he says. ‘I really do mean that because nobody from my high school, in fact, nobody from my area, had even heard of Trinity or the opportunities that were available here.’ Once within the bounds of the College, Reegan knew it was up to him to make the most of everything Trinity had to offer. As a commerce student, he became involved in the Gourlay Visiting Professorship in Business Ethics program and found himself liaising directly with world-leading professors, taking the chance to quiz them on business matters in the process. By being open to creating new networks in his field, Reegan has secured a job with EY (formerly Ernst & Young) for when he graduates at the end of this year. ‘I interned there and noticed a lot of familiar faces from Trinity. I found I could easily talk to the alumni in the firm about transitioning into the workforce and finding out what skills I needed to learn,’ he says. ‘I imagine that network will continue to help me throughout my career. For me, that’s really important because my parents don’t come from a corporate background. I feel lucky to be able to utilise the Trinity network and make the most of this chance I wouldn’t otherwise have had.’ As a way of giving back, Reegan has mentored high school students through the Young Leaders Program and has developed a social impact initiative called Project Lantern. As part of this project, he and a friend are recording a podcast that asks leaders in social impact who are under 30 what it means to change the world and, for phase two, the pair are working on an online platform to help connect young people to volunteer opportunities. It looks like the pay it forward concept is working. ¹ú²úBT has a bold ambition to offer more than 200 scholarships worth about $8 million by 2023. To help us achieve this goal, we welcome the support of donors who would like to assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds access the friendships and opportunities Trinity provides. Please visit trinity.unimelb.edu.au/donate