Claire Baker

A dream realised

Claire Baker completed a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology and Philosophy) and then Honours at UNE, earning the University Medal for her efforts. But she says she would never have been able to tackle a PhD or realise her academic aspirations without the help of her benefactor James Harris.

"I've been studying at the tertiary level for the past 19 years, combining study and part-time work with raising three children. Moving on  to PhD study was always going to be really tough financially, as I knew I would need to supplement my Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship by piecing together academic and professional roles.

As a result of being awarded the University Medal for my Honours research, my PhD project came to the attention of James.

He took a keen interest in my project, which takes an interdisciplinary look at a small district's experience of change in a globalising agricultural economy. I wanted to explore the impact of policy change and broader trends in Australian agriculture, including farming in a market-oriented system.

I met with James early in the application process and he was keen to help me in the most practical way possible. When he asked me what would help, the answer was simply that I needed some time and space. In the fine balance of combining study with multiple work roles and raising three children, financial breathing space through the provision of a top-up scholarship was exactly the help I needed.

I was so relieved and excited when James said he would support me with a scholarship. It was the difference between me being able to take it on full-time and therefore finish it in just over three years. This gave me the opportunity, for the first time in my long experience of tertiary study, to study full-time. In that final year, especially, it was what kept us going. It enabled me to do long, sustained bouts of writing when I needed to maintain my focus without work disruptions.

After completing my PhD I earned the Chancellor's Doctoral Research Medal in recognition of research of exceptional merit, which was a great honour and I was so happy to feel that I had made the best of the opportunity that the scholarship afforded to me. I was contemplating moving to Melbourne or Canberra to try and find a full-time academic role but when a permanent position lecturing in Sociology came up at UNE I was able to finally piece together my teaching experience with the completed PhD to get the job.

This appointment means a lot to me because it is the realisation of a dream that I have had for a long time. I remember attending my first Sociology lecture 19 years ago and it changed my life and my view on the world. I looked at my lecturer and just thought ‘I want his job!’. That was the vision that sustained me, and 19 years later I finally do in fact have that job!

James' scholarship has opened up a whole new life that wouldn't have been possible without it. It was absolutely critical. I have been published in a leading international academic journal, I have presented at conferences and universities around the world and am now in conversation with publishers about turning my thesis into a book. I am simply unable to ever thank James enough for the opportunity that his generous support has given to me.”

It was not the first or last time that James Harris, now UNE's Chancellor, has supported postgraduate research at the university. He helped support a student 15 years ago who was investigating Coolatai grass - "something that I was interested in and wanted to help fix" - and this year he supported Growing Regional and Agriculture Students in Science.

"I’ve been motivated to help postgraduate students because it's a chance to make things better for someone or something; to make the community a better place," James said.

It feels plain old good when you help somebody else. I hoped that helping Claire would make her life a bit easier so she could put more time and energy into her research.

"This kind of financial support is well worth giving. If you have an interest or something you are passionate about, you can help others to further their knowledge, even if it's a one-off scholarship. There’s no starting point in terms of how much you give and UNE staff are always happy to discuss flexible options  - whether it's setting up a new fund or putting money towards an existing one. You’ve just got to start somewhere. You could be part of something that could change peoples' lives for the better or improve a community. That's incredibly rewarding and I’d encourage others to consider supporting students in this way."