The Chairman of the Connellan Airways Trust, Mr. Mark Coffey, recently announced Curtis Rayment to be the winner of the 2019 Junior E.J Connellan Award, receiving $20,000 over four years of his degree.
Home for Curtis is Eildon Park Station in Winton QLD and having completed a Bachelor of Health Sciences at the University of Queensland in 2016 he received the Deans Commendation for Academic Excellence.
He is now in his 2nd year of a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at James Cook University QLD. He plays premier rugby at Teachers West Rugby where he also coaches several of the junior teams as well at the Townsville’s Cathedral School where he also works as a Boarding School Supervisor.
Curtis says "My two major passions are Outback Australia and Medicine. I have always loved the bush, my families beautiful cattle property and the people that live out there, however it is only since starting my degree that I have realised that there are some serious inequalities regarding health when comparing those living in regional areas to those in major cities. Some of those inequalities are because there is a serious lack of doctors and resources in those isolated areas. Yes, I am some time away from becoming a doctor but I am a very young proactive man and my dream is to make a difference. The sky is the limit and this award gives me the opportunity to reach that.”
Mr Coffey said “Curtis is committed to assisting people in the outback which is an important element of the E.J. Connellan Award. We are very happy to support Curtis given the additional costs that people from outback Australia have in accessing specialist courses such as medicine. Rural Australia needs more doctors and we hope that by supporting Curtis, he will return to the bush and provide a much needed service to people in the outback.”
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