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A Bendigo high school graduate awarded a sought-after scholarship has told peers his success comes down to one factor: perseverance.
Having graduated at the end of 2016, Leon Polychronopoulos returned to Catholic College Bendigo this week to receive the McPherson Smith Rural Foundation tertiary scholarship.
His $45,000 prize is one of just four given to Victorian students planning on a return to their rural hometowns at the end of university studies.
Sometimes it’s better to take the one with twists and turns because the barriers you face provide you the best opportunity to learn more about yourself.
- Leon Polychronopoulos, scholarship recipient
Mr Polychronopoulos is studying a five-year pharmacy degree at Monash University in Melbourne.
The aspiring healthcare worker never considered himself an “academic person”; he pointed out the word “studying” contains the word “dying”.
But he persevered, even when hard work went unrewarded.
While he originally hoped to win a place in a medicine course this year, Mr Polychronopoulos was left disappointed when offers were released.
At an assembly on Thursday, he shared dozens of rejection letters he received from university and scholarship applications before he was awarded the McPherson Smith prize.
But he was now comfortable with the idea of taking a more circuitous route to his dream job.
“I had a lot of pressure from myself to do better than my best but later realised the best is all you can do, and comparing your marks to others is only more dangerous,” Mr Polychronopoulos said.
“Sometimes it’s better to take the one with twists and turns because the barriers you face provide you the best opportunity to learn more about yourself.
“No matter what these barriers are that you face, you’ll always find a way.”
That path will eventually lead him back to regional Victoria, where he hopes to improve the public’s health outcomes.
He was especially keen to reduce the harmful affects of drugs on the Bendigo community.
“Living in a small rural community doesn’t need to impact our ability to make a difference in the world.”
MSRF chairman Rob Knowles congratulated Mr Polychronopoulos on his success.
“It’s very exciting to see the level of passion and commitment to regional communities from the young scholars, creating a promising future for these towns when they return post-graduation.”