Supporting Indigenous scholars

When The Australian National University (ANU) launched the Kambri Scholars Program in 2020, it called on the community for support. John Henderson met the call, giving generously to establish momentum in the program's initial stages.

Since then, John's commitment to improving educational opportunities for Indigenous Australia has been instrumental to the success of the scholarship program.

"I have had the pleasure of seeing the Kambri Scholars Program grow," says John. "It is great to hear that this year we have almost doubled the number of scholars."

With 16 new scholars enrolled for 2022, the total number of scholars supported since the program started in 2020 has grown to 39.

In 2021, John gave a $100,000 gift to the Kambri Scholars Program. With the University matching every donation, dollar for dollar, the impact of John's donation was doubled. This allowed ANU to increase the number of undergraduate scholarships available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at the University, enabling even more scholars to achieve their dreams.

Amelia Gordon, 2021 Kambri Scholarship recipient studying International Securities and Law, says, "I always dreamed about going to a university that gave me the right opportunities and let me network with different people that would help me become a better person."

For John Henderson, supporting students is what drives him to donate - making Kambri the ideal focus for his philanthropy.

"The connection with the students is what is most important to me," says John, noting that he can see the mentoring provided by the Tjabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre is of particular importance to the Scholars' success.

The power of education to transform a person's ability to contribute to their community, and to the world at large, cannot be understated. Through the Kambri Scholars Program, donors like John are supporting the next generation of influential Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars.