A recipient of the Gallipoli Scholarship in 2010, Ms Norrie shares her story to encourage others to apply.

“I received the scholarship in 2010, which was my first year of university. I was moving to Bathurst to study a Journalism degree at Charles Sturt University,” Ms Norrie said.

“I decided to go straight to university after the HSC and with four years of study ahead of me, I was looking at options to ensure I could study full time for the duration. I had looked closely at scholarships and stumbled upon this one. I had always been really interested in history so I found this really interesting and decided to apply when I realised I was eligible as my Poppa had served in WWII.”

Her grandfather James Norrie served in Papua New Guinea in WW2, and was a farmer near Eugowra in the Central West, where Ms Norrie’s family still farms today.

Mr Norrie told his family he drove trucks when he returned home and like many veterans didn't talk much about his experiences over there.

“When I went to Sydney to receive the Gallipoli scholarship in April 2010, I was given the chance to apply to take part in the Kokoda Youth Leadership Program and walk the Kokoda Trail.”

“I did this in the September of the same year and found out Poppa's battalion fought up the track. This was a special thing for me to bring home to our family - we think he might have told everyone he was just driving trucks as the Kokoda campaign was remembered for its brutal conditions.”

“It was so special to follow in his footsteps, the best thing I have ever done.”

The $5000 scholarship was a huge help to her financially in her first year, and she used some of the money to update her laptop and invest in the software she needed for her media subjects, and she still use these today.

Ms Norrie also had to complete a number of internships throughout her degree and this money helped when she had to stay overnight for a few weeks at a time to work as an intern.

She said one of the  biggest benefits was the mentorship she received throughout her studies and continuing after university life.

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“I am still in touch with the committee today, they check in and see where I am at from time to time.”

“We had to send our results after the first semester to receive the second half of the money so it was encouraging to have someone keeping an eye on my results and it probably pushed me to study harder at a time in your life when there are a lot of distractions.”

“I think a lot of young people think that scholarships are unattainable. I'd encourage anyone heading to uni or studying at TAFE to throw their hat in the ring and give it a go.”

The Gallipoli Scholarship is $5000 tax free, and is available to any student going in to their first year of university or TAFE (Degree, Diploma or Advanced Diploma level).

Applicants must be a direct descendant of an Australian who served in either WWI or WWII, and in assessing suitability, a 60 per cent weighting applies to necessitous circumstances and 40 per cent on educational merit

Applications close March 1, and full details can be found here.

“It's a fantastic opportunity and I believe it's really important at such a critical time in your life to have mentors to lean on and seek advice from. I am sure there are many young men and women out there like myself that had a family member serve - this is such a nice link to their memory and a tribute to what generations before us did for our freedom and the education we have access to today.”