Letter of Thanks from ICMS Scholarship Winner

International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) second year Bachelor of Business Management student Claudia Kay was awarded the 2017 Michael Hill Scholarship.

In the letter below, she thanks ICMS Professional Scholarship Program head Ann Whitelock Courtney-O’Connor for the opportunities presented as a result of winning the scholarship from one of Australia’s largest jewellery retailers.

Dear Ann,

I wish to extend my sincerest thanks to ICMS for awarding me the Michael Hill Scholarship for 2017.

My first year of study has been extraordinary in many respects. A major contributing factor of this has been the many opportunities that have presented themselves to me as a result of receiving this award. I admit that when I initially received the scholarship I did not fully recognise the breadth of opportunities which accompanied it. The two opportunities I was immediately aware of included the tuition waiver and placement opportunity with Michael Hill. Beyond this, I could never have imagined that my first year at ICMS would have been so challenging and fulfilling.

Firstly, I must acknowledge both the placement opportunity and the tuition waiver as known benefits of receiving this scholarship. The monetary benefit has enabled me to receive a tertiary education, an opportunity which many young people like myself can only dream of. I am extremely thankful for this and hope that my efforts this year have reflected this. I also hope that in my endeavours with Michael Hill, during the next stage of my ICMS journey, my sincere gratitude is reflected. Having commenced placement with the team at the Orange store already, I can confidently say that I am very excited for the next nine months.

Secondly, I would like to take the time to acknowledge and give thanks for the opportunities which have presented themselves to me in 2017, namely the Student Ambassador program and employment within the ICMS Marketing and Recruitment department.

I was originally encouraged to take part in the Student Ambassador program as a way of completing volunteer hours. This opportunity exposed me to the various leadership positions within ICMS. Throughout the year I travelled to various career expos in Sydney and spoke with many prospective students. I represented the college at various events, such as the Australian Open of Surfing and the Manly Jazz Festival.

I also found the program to be a great opportunity to network with other scholarship recipients who I may not necessarily have met otherwise. However, an obvious highlight for me was being able to return to my own high school in Orange to speak with both Year 12 & Year 11 students about my experiences at ICMS. I found this to be a very rewarding exercise and hope to be able to visit again in the future. I hope to continue my involvement with the Student Ambassador program where possible while on industry training and also once I have completed my placement.

I could go on and on about the opportunities I have had this past year but I best stop for now. I will, however, acknowledge how humbled I am by these experiences. I must once again extend my sincere thanks for believing in me and for enabling such a positive start to my tertiary education. I am forever grateful.

Kind regards,

Claudia Kay

For more information on the many scholarships offered by ICMS, click here: https://www.icms.edu.au/scholarships