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Alumni
Lucy Tydd almost talked herself out of applying. This year, she helped run the program.
In 2025, during her time as a participant in the NYSF Year 12 Program, a conversation with a staffie pointed Lucy Tydd towards a career in occupational therapy.
This year, she came back as a staffie herself, stepping into the same role as the person who first got her thinking about occupational therapy. Twelve months earlier, she wasn't sure she'd even make it to Canberra.
Lucy heard about the program through one of her school teachers, David Lette, who finds opportunities like this for his rural school and makes sure his students know about them.
Someone in the year above her had gone and loved it, so Lucy knew straight away she'd apply.
Actually getting there was harder. Applicants come from all over Australia, and Lucy had fears it would be be too competitive.
“I worried that I wasn’t ‘smart enough’ to be selected.”
Her family was also going through a tough time, and paying her share of the program didn’t seem possible. An NYSF Access and Equity scholarship covered some of the cost, and her local dairy generously covered the rest.
“Their (the dairy’s) support made it possible for me to attend, and I will always be incredibly grateful for the opportunities they gave me,” she said.
“Looking back, I’m so glad I didn’t let self doubt or financial barriers stop me from applying.”
At 16, Lucy knew she liked science and wanted a job where every day was different. That was about as far as the plan went, and she was hoping the NYSF would help her narrow things down. It did, though not only through the lectures and labs she’d been expecting.
“I don’t think prospective students realise just how much the program is about the people as well as the science,” she said.
“You spend every day with students who are just as curious and passionate as you are, and you quickly build friendships that last well beyond the program.”
