Victoria

Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing)

The decision by Victoria to study Creative Writing at Flinders University was fuelled by her desire to learn the craft of writing novels through formal training.

However, several financial obstacles during the COVID-19 restrictions have made her study path especially difficult this year.

Because this was her second undergraduate degree, Victoria is ineligible for Austudy funds, so she took two part-time casual jobs to provide a regular income – working in a hotel’s entertainment lounge as a trivia host and issuing promotional food samples in supermarkets.

However, once COVID-19 restrictions hit, both jobs ceased and Victoria was told they wouldn’t be reintroduced for the foreseeable future.

‘I hadn’t expected to be faced with such financial uncertainty, and this caused me a huge amount of stress,’ says Victoria. ‘I have some savings but seeing my bank account declining without any deposits was demoralising and quite frightening.’

Receiving a Matthew Flinders scholarship has helped Victoria pay her living costs, including bills and rent.

She continues to look for work but hasn’t had any success competing with a vast number of qualified people for a small pool of job vacancies. Instead, she has thrown herself into her writing studies, and is reveling in the experience.

‘My studies have been something positive that I’ve been able to focus all my energy on,’ she says. ‘Being at uni through this time has actually been a blessing.’

‘It has given me a great sense of purpose – and receiving this scholarship has been a bright light in the darkness. I feel that I’m a part of a community where people come together to show support during hard times, and that’s extremely uplifting.’