Mandurah Catholic College graduate Jessica Fenton has been selected from seven Australia-wide applicants to be awarded the third Catenian Charity Inc scholarship. Photo: Supplied.
By Eric Martin
Mandurah Catholic College graduate Jessica Fenton has been selected from seven Australia-wide applicants to be awarded the third Catenian Charity Inc scholarship, which will enable her to realise a dream of graduating as a Doctor of Medicine.
Jessica has an outstanding academic record from secondary and university as well as achieving an exceptionally high score in the other two Catenian Charity criteria: personal qualities and motivation, and community service; and importantly, she also has a genuine regard for the experience of her Catholic education in WA.
In her submission to the Catenians, Jessica exposed the kind of character that the association is looking to reward, sharing that she has “always been determined to persevere against all odds and overcome adversity.”
“In my final year of high school I graduated with more than 200 hours of community service, the title of House Prefect, experience representing Western Australia at the Youth Girls Australian National Football Championships, House Colours and an ATAR of 95.95,” Jessica said.
In 2017 at the University of Western Australia, Jessica commenced a Bachelor of Science, studying a Double Major in Medical and Psychological Sciences. She is in the final year of that degree and when she graduates at the end of 2019 will have a direct pathway into medicine.
She resided at St Thomas More College, Crawley, during her university studies and in 2018 was selected to be a College Resident Advisor for Outreach and Social Justice, becoming the Senior Resident Advisor in 2019.
“Living at a residential college St Thomas More has added such breadth to my life that, despite the ongoing agony of trying to find that last dollar for rent, I would happily go through again and again,” Jessica said.
A senior staff member of the College, who has known Jessica for over two years, observed that: “Jessica’s ability to follow through on any task was a major contributing factor to her elevation to the senior student position within the College. Her commitment and dedication to this College and our chapel community is enduring. She continues to maintain both the respect of her peers and of the office staff.”
Jessica was born in 1997 at Narrogin (200 kilometres due east of Mandurah), moving to Mandurah in 2003 when her parents, Ann and Mark, relocated to provide their children with an opportunity to obtain a secondary education at a Catholic school: Jessica is their second eldest child and has four siblings, two sisters and two brothers.
“Despite being born into such isolation in a small country town, through the acts of my parents I was afforded the chance for a decent education. Now it is down to me to chase my dreams and further my education in the hopes of achieving my vocation. I decided to pursue medicine because I believe it holds the key to unlocking my abilities and further enhancing the influence if have on this world.”
The Catenian Charity scholarship of $5,000, announced in September 2019, is continuous until Jessica graduates at the end of 2023.
She is eligible for the award because she is in receipt of a Study Allowance from Centrelink and is therefore deemed to be in necessitous circumstances, a requirement of the Australian Taxation Office for the Charity to operate.
“[I would like] to thank the Catenian Association for being instruments of God, allowing me to find my vocation in religious life,” Jessica said.
“I cannot thank you enough for sponsoring me back in 2012 to take part in the fruitful course that exposed me to young seminarians and religious life, starting a fire in my own heart and allowing me to discover the unique calling towards holiness Our Lord has called me to.”