Last night Forrest Hall filled with warmth, conversation and a shared sense of pride as the Fogarty Foundation gathered with UWA executives and staff for InspirED, the final event of the year for the UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarship program, and an evening that gave us the chance to celebrate everything our Scholars have achieved and to look ahead to what they will go on to do.

We would first like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Forrest Research Foundation for generously hosting us in such a beautiful setting, and in particular to Nicole Feast, who welcomed our guests on behalf of the Foundation and shared her own experience as a Forrest Scholar, reminding everyone in the room of the lasting difference this kind of support can make to a young person’s path. We are also grateful to Professor Tim Colmer, who spoke on behalf of the University of Western Australia, and reflected on the strength of the relationship between UWA and the Fogarty Foundation throughout 2026, a partnership that continues to open doors for so many students.

Our thanks go as well to Matt Vinci, President of the Fogarty Scholars Association, who guided the evening and shared his reflections on the Fogarty Scholar's Association's 2026 activities and on his time on the Fogarty Foundation Board of Trustees. We also heard from Annie Fogarty AM, whose reflections on 2026 and her excitement for 2027 reminded us why this work matters, and who then presented certificates to our graduating Scholars. We were equally delighted to welcome Dr Michael Hooper, a Fogarty Alumni, now in the mid-career stage of his journey, who spoke so generously about the doors the Scholarship opened for him, about his professional path, and about the advice he would offer to undergraduates and to our graduating cohort as they step into the next chapter.

Most of all, we want to congratulate our graduating Scholars, each of whom has contributed so much to the Fogarty community through their curiosity, their leadership and their commitment to making a difference:

Lucie O’Sullivan
Winifred Taylor-Williams
Ellen Walkemeyer
Heather Bytheway
Peter Bruce
Rana Ibrahim
Naveen Nimalan
Josh Snow

Naveen spoke to the room about his reflections on the Scholarship and ensured everyone was well entertained by taking attendees along with him through his highs and lows of his university journey, and we thank him for sharing this with such honesty.

To all of our graduating Scholars, congratulations on this remarkable achievement, and thank you for everything you have given to this program and to one another. We wish you every success and happiness in the years ahead, and we hope that you carry with you the knowledge that you have a community behind you who will always be cheering you on. As you move into your careers, your communities and your own acts of leadership, we look forward to watching the ripples you create, because the impact of a single inspired person has a way of travelling much further than they ever expect.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, and congratulations again to our graduating Scholars.