Communications scholarship provides a decade of impact

When talking on her inspiration for the scholarship, Margaret – Managing Director of Cole Lawson Communications – recalls the lack of opportunities for students when she was undertaking her undergraduate studies.

Now, ten years on, the scholarship has become a steady pipeline for communications students directly into industry, building their employability and introducing them to the day-to-day of the profession.

“When I was a student, there were no scholarships or opportunities within the communications field,” Margaret said.

“An unexpected by-product of the scholarship over 10 years has been the awareness it has created amongst students within the industry about my company, which has led us to attract many talented UQ graduates as their number one choice of employer.

“We recently hired a UQ graduate whose GPA was 7.0 – so, the top of the class – and we were her top choice of workplace. That was a huge testament to the impact of the scholarship.”   

Along with at least $3,000 to support recipients’ studies, the scholarship paves the opportunity for an internship at Cole Lawson, where students entrench themselves in the daily engagements of the firm – from high-level client engagement to business cultivation and presentations.

While Margaret didn’t study at UQ herself, when she came to establishing the scholarship, it felt like the natural fit based on her positive interactions with the University and its alumni.

“I didn’t personally study at UQ, but I had really positive experiences as an employer of UQ graduates and as a guest lecturer at the university,” Margaret said.

“UQ has been an exceptional organisation to work with and has consistently gone above and beyond to make Cole Lawson feel appreciated, valued and like a true partner in this endeavour.  

“When we needed a lecture theatre to film in for an experimental project, the University let us use its resources during the semester break because of our partnership – it is absolutely not a one-way street, and I constantly feel treated like a VIP at UQ.”

After operating for a decade, the program has built a community of young professionals leaving their mark on the world in a range of jobs across the industry.

“Now that we are more than 10 years into the scholarship, we have our own ‘alumni’ of scholarship winners,” Margaret said.

“Many of their professional accomplishments are far beyond what I expected of myself at their age, and it gives me great pride to see them succeed and to have been even a small part of that journey.” 

As Margaret looks back on the burgeoning careers of these students, she sees their wide-ranging achievements as testament to the diversity of career outcomes borne by arts and humanities degrees.

For her, one of the stories that has stuck is that of 2012 Cole Lawson Scholar, Tanita McPherson.

“One of our wonderful scholarship recipients, Tanita, was accepted into QANTAS’s graduate program after winning the scholarship,” Margaret said.

“Years on, she is still with the company and her career trajectory into a management role is a massive credit to her, and also a huge source of pride for us.

“I check in from time to time via LinkedIn with many of the scholarship alumni and I am constantly impressed by the diversity of their roles, experiences and how they have used their Arts degree from UQ to pursue their individual paths and passions.”