Marcus Oldham Bachelor of Agribusiness student Pip Ireson is the 2023 recipient of the $20,000 Te Mania Angus Scholarship.
The 19-year-old from the rangelands beef, sheep and irrigation property Belmont, at Booligal in NSW, reached Marcus Oldham via a stint as a station hand at the Australian Agricultural Company’s Canobie Station in Far North Queensland’s gulf country.
Pip has had an interesting education – including being the entire Year 5/6 class in her local one-teacher primary school as one of its nine students.
And when she’s not hitting the books at university, Pip loves horse riding, sport/exercise, design/creating, cooking and spending time with family and friends.
“I applied to Marcus Oldham because of the school’s excellent reputation, and the course I am doing really appealed to me for the many choices it will offer my future career in the agricultural industry,” Pip says.
“As a graduate I know that’s the industry in which I will work, but I am not quite ready to pick a speciality just yet as I know the experiences to which I will be exposed during my time at Marcus Oldham will almost certainly influence the ag-career path I follow,” she says.
“I want to have a positive impact in the agricultural industry, being involved in the business as well as the practical side. I really enjoy the people in this industry, being part of a team, and working together for a successful outcome every day.
“Leading a team is a goal of mine, embracing the new technologies sweeping into the industry challenges and excites me.
“I want to be really good at what I do, I want to be like the people that I have looked up to, and to be the person that the younger generations can look up to, and the Te Mania Angus scholarship will be a huge help in me achieving that.”
Angus Cattle Breeder and Te Mania Angus director Hamish McFarlane says the scholarship was established to help students with financial assistance towards tuition and/or residential fee.
Hamish says it is normally provided for the first and final years of study but has, in some cases, been extended to intervening years.
He says the Te Mania Angus Scholarship reflects the industry’s need to not just encourage but to support young people to enter agriculture and become its next generation of well-trained and equipped leaders.
“At Te Mania Angus we work hard to be at the cutting edge of the genetics sector and remain strongly connected with all sectors of the beef supply chain – and that’s the type of scholar we support,” Hamish added.
