Kristie Gill will never know Carole or Stan Droder, but she will certainly know the power of their generosity.
As a recipient of their eponymous scholarship, Kristie is furthering an ambition she put on hold to start a family and, along the way, modelling some very different life choices.
Kristie completed a medicinal chemistry degree at the University of Wollongong in 2006, but a health scare and motherhood temporarily derailed her plans to become a pharmacist. Some 15 years later, and by then a single parent living in Mackay, hundreds of kilometres from her family support network, she decided it was time to do something to improve her own life and that of her two young children.
I needed something for myself, that would give me a long-term, satisfying career to support us. It felt like it might be my last opportunity, so I dove in the deep end to see how it would go.
“I had been a stay-at-home Mum their whole life,” says Kristie. “But I needed something for myself, that would give me a long-term, satisfying career to support us. It felt like it might be my last opportunity, so I dove in the deep end to see how it would go.
“I have always loved medicinal agents, how they work and why they are used. But medicinal chemistry is more tailored towards research, which was just not me. I wanted a role that involved engaging more with people, having meaningful discussions with them, and directly bringing benefits to the lives of others.”
Her undergraduate studies gave Kristie advanced standing for some of her pharmacy units when she enrolled at UNE in 2020, but it was always going to be a financial challenge.
Studying pharmacy at UNE via an online/distance format was the ideal mode of study, given my circumstances.
“I had done a degree, and had a fantastic experience of studying on campus as a younger person, but my needs were very different as a single parent with other responsibilities,” Kristie says. “I needed a course that was flexible and would fit my lifestyle.
"Studying pharmacy at UNE via an online/distance format was the ideal mode of study, given my circumstances, but there are costs associated with university study well beyond the fees.”
To meet some of her expenses, including textbooks and travel and accommodation for intensives, Kristie applied for “any and every scholarship out there”.
The Carole and Stan Droder Scholarship she was awarded honours the successful Sydney accountant and his first wife, with recipients receiving a maximum of $10,000 each year for two years. Stan’s own disadvantaged upbringing and exposure to the unique challenges of rural and regional students inspired the scholarship, which he saw as a way to support those families doing it tough but still determined and focused to work hard and “get ahead”.
On his death in 2014, Stan left $3 million to UNE to establish the scholarships and, so far, 46 scholarships have been awarded, amounting to more than $700,000.
For Kristie, the scholarship has relieved an “enormous amount of stress and pressure”, allowing her to focus on her studies while maintaining her hands-on parenting.
It’s a very generous amount, in line with inflation and the cost of living in 2021, and makes my life so much easier.
“In my circumstances, any amount of help is welcome and very much valued,” she says. “For instance, it allows me to fly from Mackay to Newcastle with my children, where they can stay with my parents while I drive up to Armidale to attend intensives. It’s a very generous amount, in line with inflation and the cost of living in 2021, and makes my life so much easier.”
More broadly, Kristie says the financial support is enabling her to do something she has always wanted to do. “My studies give me great satisfaction and, as a pharmacist, I hope I’m going to be able to contribute to my local community and more widely to society,” she says. “It has been enormously beneficial for my daughter, especially, who had really only seen me previously as a stay-at-home Mum. She’s now realising that your choices in life are not limited, that it is possible to pursue something you really want; that you can do it. My son also has a broadened appreciation of what future paths could be available to him.”
Kristie says she cannot underestimate or undervalue the assistance that this generous scholarship has afforded her. Find out more about UNE's scholarships, prizes and awards here.
