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The path to David Sherwood ’s Rhodes Scholarship began with an earlier award, the UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarship .

WA’s 2013 Rhodes Scholar took time out from putting the final touches to his Honours thesis to pay tribute to the scholarship that paid his way through UWA and its leader, Annie Fogarty, who mentored him as he set up his not-for-profit education group, Teach Learn Grow .

“The Fogarty Scholarship meant that I was pretty much financially independent during my undergraduate years,” David said.

“Not having to work meant I could devote time to my organisation to help struggling schoolchildren in remote and regional areas.”

Teach Learn Grow has tutored and mentored about 1,000 schoolchildren since it began in May last year. His establishment and leadership of the group would have been a major contributor to his winning the Rhodes Scholarship.

One of his team of university student volunteers was Rachel Paterson, last year’s Rhodes Scholar. She and David are both Bunbury-raised and educated. “I didn’t know Rachel when I was growing up in Bunbury because we went to different schools,” said David, who was dux of Bunbury Senior High School. “But I met her through the Fogarty Scholars’ Association and she is one of the students who joined with me to make Teach Learn Grow such a success.”

David said he had not had any committee experience before he put his hand up to be secretary of the Fogarty Scholars. “I learned a lot from that and it helped me to set up Teach Learn Grow . Annie Fogarty’s mentoring was vital, as was the Fogarty Foundation’s grant to my group – it was our first, and meant that I could actually forge ahead to realise a dream.”

David has an elite Bachelor of Science (Advanced) from UWA and his Honours thesis in Chemistry is on the application of nanotechnology to sexual reproduction in honeybees.

“But, much as I love science, I see my future in management and hands-on strategy for not-for-profit organisations,” he said. To that end, he has chosen to study politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University.

He will spend some time putting into place a succession plan for Teach Learn Grow before leaving for the UK in the middle of next year. “We have $80,000 now and the program is going brilliantly,” he said. Despite his interests in helping children with literacy and maths skills, David does not see himself as a teacher – yet.

“Maybe when I’m older. But I’m more interested in education reform right now,” he said.

On top of his academic achievements and his volunteer organisation, David has been involved in university soccer and netball, soccer and badminton organisations in Bunbury, volunteer tutoring at Homework Centres and volunteering with Fire and Emergency Services and Scitech.

Annie Fogarty said David and Rachel were both wonderful examples of the young people the Fogarty Foundation wished to support through the UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarships.

“Through the Scholarships and the Leadership Program, the UWA Fogarty Scholars are given the opportunity of learning from today’s leaders and are given a broader insight into major challenges in the community and how they can contribute, as well as a network of other of like-minded future leaders,” she said.

“I am sure that both Rachel and David will make the most of all the opportunities that the Rhodes Scholarships offer.”

Published in UWA News , 12 November 2012