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Sunday, 9 November 2014

Freya Shearer's educational journey has taken her from a tiny century-old school at Wooroloo to Oxford University as UWA's 2014 Rhodes Scholar.

Two years ago Freya Shearer went through the daunting process of Rhodes Scholarship interviews preceded by a Government House dinner ("candidates swap seats each course to speak with a different panel member"). While the UWA student missed out on securing a scholarship, she was still in the running for one of three Australia-At-Large Rhodes Scholarships. Another round of interviews further tested her nerve - this time, in Canberra - and again she missed out.

"I came away really disappointed, but being unsuccessful forced me to reflect, to work out what I really wanted - and made me determined to re-apply in 2013," she recalls. "I took on board the feedback the scholarship committee gave me about being cautious in delivering opinions on contentious issues - and, over the next eight months, worked hard on that.

"When I re-applied for the Rhodes last year, I was a more tenacious person due to my work at St John of God Hospital and for Upside Nepal. I was honoured to tell the committee about my work in the Emergency Department where I was involved in developing a protocol that improved treatment times for heart attack patients by 30 minutes. Cardiologists have a saying - time is muscle - because every minute a heart muscle is deprived of oxygen there's further damage, so cutting those times is significant.

"When I finally walked out of the Rhodes interview last year I knew that - whether or not I'd won - I was more resilient and more purposeful in expressing my point of view.

"Now, I appreciate that the whole experience has been life-changing and I'm sure this is only the beginning. I wouldn't change anything about the way I got to this point; missing out initially may have been as important
as winning..."

Freya urged graduating students at her high school, Perth College, not to stress about being unsure of their career choices. "At my Year 12 presentation night I had no idea what I wanted to do," she recalls. "My advice is to pick something you like, do it well and work hard. It is difficult to predict where your choice will lead you."

The graduate's love of sport and of volunteering has been a constant thread through her educational journey to Oxford. She has State medals in the 100m hurdles and continued to train with former Australian hurdler Lyn Foreman's squad until she left for Oxford.

"I enjoy all sport and I feel it gives you the energy to fit everything into your day - and I love the social aspects," she says. "In recent years, playing weekly soccer matches with detainees at the Perth Immigration Detention Centre has strengthened my belief that sport transcends cultural and linguistic barriers, and helps refugees meet people from the wider community."

This community service - along with volunteering with disadvantaged groups in WA and remote communities in Nepal - were an important element of her winning the prestigious scholarship that is selected on the basis of exceptional intellect, character, leadership and commitment to service.

At Oxford, Freya will study a Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health, which will further develop the knowledge and skills in health and international development gained through her UWA degree (BSc Hons), her research at St John of God Hospital (Murdoch) and her international development work with the not-for-profit organisation Upside Nepal.

"I approached an Oxford research group that is a leader in infectious disease cartography and asked if I could be involved," says the graduate. "It has a great track record in mapping malaria and dengue fever and the group suggested that I contribute in the area of mapping Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis and West Nile Fever, all closely-related mosquito-borne diseases. My aim is to produce global evidence-based risk maps that will improve the targeting, implementation and evaluation of disease prevention, surveillance and control strategies."

And if her track record is anything to go by, this Rhodes Scholar's contribution to one of global health's major challenges will be significant.

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