The Shoalhaven's students are set to make a huge mark on the world.
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And the community is backing the students' dreams and ambitions, through the Shoalhaven Education Fund, which handed out about $100,000 to 58 students on Wednesday, January 31.
The money was allocated to help the students pursue tertiary and further education in 2024.
Among them were many inspiring stories, like Darcy Tay who is starting her Honours in Biotechnology, looking at genetics and the temperature-determined sex chromosome in bearded dragons and Tasmanian devils.
Kaiden Grimes is heading to Wollongong University to start a Bachelor of Technology, but has his eyes set on moving into a biomedical engineering degree, then bionics, prosthetics and robotics with an end goal of making bionic hands and body joints.
Karina Maya is launching into a double degree in psychology and cognitive brain science at Macquarie University, using it as a foundation for going into law, and working in human rights.
Her brother Manuel Maya is also heading to Macquarie University for a Bachelor of Medical Science and Bachelor of Brain and Cognitive Science, with plans to join Medecins Sans Frontieres - the Doctors Without Borders, and work all over the world, particularly in Nepal where he grew up and saw many people going without medical care.
Lilly Coombes is undertaking a double law and arts degree at Wollongong University with ambitions to work in human rights and social justice, while Wishaya Jansma-Smith is moving to Melbourne to start the third year of her Law Degree at Swinburne University, after completing her first two years at Wollongong.
Frances Gray is set to start a Bachelor of Music Performance in clarinet at the Sydney Conservatory, while Mia Garin is due to finish her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy this year, after which she hopes to work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Mia's sisters Lara and Kaitlin also received awards, helping Lara in the third year of her medical studies and Adelaide University, and Kaitlin to study engineering at Wollongong University.
The ambitions and inspiring stores kept coming from the people presented with awards during the evening.
"I love meeting young people who are so focused on what they want to do," Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley said while presenting the awards.
The evening's final award was named after former North Nowra man Scott Morrison, who devoted much of his life to raising money for the Shoalhaven Hospital and helping the community, before he died in a car crash a few years ago.
The community rallied around his family and donated money, but that was given to the Shoalhaven Education Fund to help students.
The annual Scott Morrison Award is given to a students reflecting Scott's determination, hard work, care for community, and this year went to Robert Allotta.
Robert admitted he was "just an awkward kid" when he started a Bachelor of Primary Education in 2019, but after a few years he realised it wasn't for him and he switched to nursing, where he is starting his final year of studies and devoting a lot of time to helping younger students, as well as appearing in plenty of media promotions for Wollongong University.
A wide range of donors made the awards possible, including the Snow Foundation which has committed to providing 12 $5000 scholarships each year for four years.
This year the Shoalhaven Education Fund received 110 applications - double the number it had ever received in a single year before.
Fund chairperson Sophie Ray said it was a tough job to sort through hem, and funds were allocated on need, rather than academic achievement.
