Parmigiani shortlist profiles: Sarah Bourke (AUS)

Sarah Catherine Bourke

Academically Sarah Bourke excels. She has a bachelor of arts and bachelor of science with first class honours in biological anthropology. In 2011 Bourke received the Chancellor’s Letter of Commendation for academic excellence and became a Golden Key Honour Society member in 2013. She has received numerous other awards and scholarships including the Neville Bonner Memorial Scholarship for Honours in Political Science.

An Aboriginal Australian, Bourke was named Australian Scholar of the Year by the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC). This award highlighted not just Bourke’s academic achievements but also her contribution towards the Australia’s indigenous communities and wider communities.

Bourke is an active volunteer at the Australian National University Boat Club and trains up to nine times per week during the season. In 2012 Bourke won silver in the pair at the Australian University Games and subsequently was awarded the Australian National University Half Blue Award for sporting achievement.

Bourke is involved in voluntary work both at the national and international level. Internationally she has raised funds for a Red Cross Development School in the Solomon Islands. Nationally she is an ambassador for the Australian National University Regional Partnerships programme. In this role Bourke tutors indigenous school students and also works with students in regional areas of Australia to help them understand the opportunities available to them in higher education to improve their lives and livelihoods.

In 2008 Bourke was selected as the ANU representative to the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education. She was also selected for the ANU Vice Chancellor’s Student Leadership Programme as a student with the potential and motivation to become a leader. In 2012 she was a leader and mentor at a National Indigenous Youth Leadership Conference.

Bourke’s goal is to become a leader in her field and make lasting changes to how governments, organisations and individuals address improving the health of all indigenous Australians.

Sarah Bourke on…being shortlisted for the 2013 Parmigiani Spirit Award
"I was completely shocked when the ANU told me they wanted to nominate me for this award, and so finding out that I had been shortlisted on an international level was simply unbelievable. I have been rowing since school, and believe that my approach to life has truly been shaped by participating in this wonderful sport. I am very grateful to those who have supported me in my rowing career, and to those who continue to encourage my pursuits. In the next season I look forward to starting my Masters at the University of Oxford in the UK, sponsored by the General Sir John Monash Award and the Roberta Sykes Scholarship. I will continue to develop my rowing there, and hope to be selected to represent the university in the future."