By LIA SPENCER
OUSTANDING students were honoured for their achievements at the 29th annual Herb Thomas Memorial Trust awards dinner last week.
The annual event, which rewards students in the publishing and printing industry, was held at the Dandenong Club and hosted by the Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills.
The Herb Thomas Memorial Trust was established in 1979 by the Rotary Clubs of Berwick, Pakenham and Narre Warren in conjunction with the City of Berwick and the Shire of Pakenham. In 1992, the Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills became an official supporter of the trust.
The trust was established in honour of former Gazette proprietor and editor Herbert Bennett Thomas who was known for being dedicated to his profession.
Mr Thomas was a former member and President of the Victorian Country Press Association and renowned for having a great knowledge of the district and its history.
The trust aims to establish a series of grants to assist young writers and students who are pursuing a career in literature and/or the media.
Students Elspeth Hussey, Karlie Italia and Ethan Hoare were nominated by their tertiary institutions for this year’s award.
Ms Hussey was nominated by RMIT University School of Media and Communications as the most outstanding student in the Graduate Diploma in Journalism.
Ms Hussey has been freelancing for newspapers and lifestyle magazines since completing her diploma last year, and has a long list of acheivements including receiving a Crickey Award for the Best Feature Writer in a postgraduate journalism program.
She was also one of seven students chosen to have her story broadcase on ABC Radio National.
Ms Hussey said she hoped to use the money from the award towards a call recording device that plugs into iPhones, flights to Perth where she will interview bestselling novelist M.L. Stedman for a profile piece and to enrol in two short-courses to help achieve her goal of becoming a multi-platform journalist.
Ms Italia was nominated by Monash University Berwick Campus as an outstanding final year Journalism Studies student in the Bachelor of Communications/Professional Communications.
She began writing early in life, reporting for her school newspaper, The Pearcedale Press. Her drive for knowledge and craving for answers continued and plans to travel to Turkey and Italy in June for a study unit called Beyond Gallipoli. There, she hopes to set up a travel blog. She plans to use her money towards funding her trip.
Mr Hoare was nominated by RMIT University International Centre of Graphic Technology as the most outstanding final year Graphic Technology students. He was nominated as the most outstanding final year student by RMIT University’s International Centre of Graphic Technology.
He has picked up several awards for his work and will be representing Australia in the WorldSkills International competition in Germany in July.
Mr Hoare said he planned to use the prize money to support his current studies and further his career in the industry by purchasing the latest technology and software.
Mr Thomas’ son, Ian Thomas, congratulated the award winners and said the calibre of the recipients was some of the best the trust has seen.
Chairman of the trust, Roger Hall, thanked guests for attending the event and announced that the 30th anniversary of the Herb Thomas Memorial Trust will be hosted by the Rotary Club of Berwick next year.
