Toby on Studying Agriculture

Toby’s Journey

High school

I was privileged enough to spend all of my schooling in rural Victoria, attending Mercy Regional College in Camperdown for my high school years. Through school, I took on different leadership opportunities. These included being College Captain and being selected as part of Victoria’s Rural Youth Ambassador program. Each of these experiences taught me and enabled me to believe that I can make a mark in this world. No matter the size or scale of the impact we look for, all of us can make change happen.

Studying my passion

I have always had a passion for dairy cattle, especially showing them. I believe they are a vital asset to our entire country. It was from this passion that I decided to apply for a Gardiner Dairy Foundation Tertiary Scholarship in the hopes of being able to explore this passion at a higher level. I was extremely honoured to receive the Shirley Harlock Scholarship and, thanks to the support of the Gardiner Foundation, I am now living on campus at Robb College and studying a Bachelor of Agriculture (Majoring in the Technology Sector) at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales.

Moving interstate

Moving to NSW for further study was a massive change. I knew no one and I would be living 16 hours and 1,500km from home. Although I don’t get to see my family as much as I would like, I have enjoyed the challenge of pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. With that mindset, I have absolutely loved every minute of my life’s new chapter at Robb College. Adjusting to university has been a big learning curve in self-motivation and management. However, I really enjoy the freedom of working at my own pace and encourage everyone to push themselves.

Future plans

In the future I hope to be working with or developing my own technologies for the dairy industry. I hope to develop more financially accessible technologies for farmers to be more innovative and efficient and excel in this forever advancing world.