Kawana, who is completing a Master of Biostatics at the University of Sydney, was recognised for her work “in uplifting fellow First Nations university students to ensure they can best succeed in their studies”.

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The Wiradjuri woman attended Macksville Public School then Nambucca Heads High School, and is focused on improving healthcare outcomes for her people.

“With the help of this scholarship, I want to make a difference in treatment options and quality of healthcare for First Nations people suffering with cancer or genetic illness.

“I believe that this will be an area of lifelong work for me,” Kawana said.

In total, three first prize students across the country will each receive the scholarship, which is aimed at furthering the careers of First Nations health professionals.

Five runner-ups will receive $10,000 each.

Established in 2018, the Dr Evelyn Scott Scholarship is an annual program developed by the Bupa Foundation to honour the legacy of Dr Scott, a former resident of Bupa’s Mount Sheridan aged care home and a proud Indigenous leader who spent her life fighting for the rights of all peoples.

Indigenous rights activist and social justice campaigner Dr Evelyn Scott was one of the leading campaigners in Australia’s historic 1967 referendum, in which more than 90 percent of voters elected to remove discriminatory references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from the Australian Constitution.

Upon her death in 2017, Dr Evelyn Scott became the first Aboriginal woman to be honoured by the Queensland government in a state funeral.

By Ned COWIE