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Last Updated: Thursday, 02 March 2023 11:20

Published: Thursday, 02 February 2023 16:25

Four years after arriving in Australia from a Turkish refugee camp, University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) Arts/Law student Farhan Khudir has been awarded the Toowoomba Region’s 2023 W. H. Groom Centenary of Toowoomba Scholarship.

Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio congratulated the former Toowoomba State High School student on his academic and community service achievements. The prize was presented at today’s (January 26) Toowoomba city Australia Day award presentation ceremony at Picnic Point.

Farhan is entering his third year of a Bachelor of Arts (major in International Relations) and a Bachelor of Law at UniSQ.

The 21-year-old student works as a part-time administrative assistant at the Toowoomba Social Justice Commission’s Dignity Project, where he acts as an interpreter for refugee and migrant families who are settling in Australia, and relevant support agencies, prospective employers and volunteers. He initially started as a volunteer with the project.

“I appreciate what these families are experiencing when arriving in a foreign country with little or no understanding of English or how to access government and other support services, in addition to establishing all the requirements for a new life,” Farhan said.

“My family and I were forced from our home in northern Iraq in the wake of the deadly attacks by Islamic State forces in 2014. We fled with other Yazidi families to a Turkish refugee camp where we lived for four years.”

The family’s fate took a fortunate turn thanks to a humanitarian visa that allowed them and others to be resettled in Australia, and specifically Toowoomba.

“In 2019 I enrolled in Year 11 at Toowoomba State High School and graduated in 2020 with a Queensland Certificate of Education and ready to embark on tertiary studies,” Farhan said.

Farhan, whose first language is Kurdish, also speaks Arabic, some Turkish and German, as well as English. He is enrolled in a Diploma of Modern Languages (majoring in Spanish) through Armidale’s University of New England.

“After completing my studies, I hope to work as a criminal lawyer, a migration agent or a lawyer,” Farhan said.

Away from his studies, Farhan also works as an iConnect concierge (student support advisor) at UniSQ and previously served as a volunteer retail assistant at the Toowoomba Red Cross retail shop for six months.

He is a club co-leader at the UniSQ English Conversation Club. He and club members help students from non-English speaking backgrounds gain skills and confidence in conversational English and inter-cultural understanding.

Last year he was a guest on the You Belong podcast highlighting the stories of refugees and immigrants who have settled in Toowoomba in the past 20 years.

“I’m very grateful to Council for selecting me for the scholarship. The prize will greatly assist with my study expenses,” Farhan said.

“I feel proud and have a sense of belonging to the Toowoomba community.

“My family says it feels like we are in the best place in Australia. We are glad we are in Toowoomba.”

Farhan receives $5000 in half-yearly payments.

Mayor Antonio said the scholarship highlighted the calibre of students at the University of Southern Queensland.

“Farhan is achieving top results individually, but also is an active participant in other community activities,” Mayor Antonio said.

“Council is proud to award this scholarship to another worthy young recipient from the Toowoomba Region. Farhan has achieved many firsts and has a very bright future. I look forward to hearing about his ongoing achievements.”

The scholarship was established in 2004 to mark the centenary of Toowoomba’s proclamation as a city and to honour the achievements of Toowoomba’s first mayor, William Henry Groom.

W. H. Groom served a total of seven terms as mayor from 1861 and was elected to represent the municipality in the Queensland Colonial Government.

He was elected to represent the Darling Downs in the first Commonwealth Parliament and was responsible for much of the town’s early development.

Caption: Toowoomba Region 2023 W. H. Groom Scholarship recipient, UniSQ Arts/Law student Farhan Khudir.