A Better Australia Scholarship Winner

Editor’s note (July 2026): The A Better Australia Scholarship program is no longer offered by The Expert Editor. This post is kept as a historical record of Sophie’s 2014 win.

The Expert Editor congratulates Sophie Cusworth, Bachelor of Arts student at Melbourne University, for winning the 2014 A Better Australia Scholarship. This was her entry:

“As a student of social and political sciences, and with a heart for social justice, my ideal change for Australia takes the form of attitude alteration. Australia is characterised by its apparent orientation towards a ‘fair go’ for all. However, I wonder how often this claim is represented in our actions, words, and attitudes towards others; both as individuals in Australian society and in our present governmentality. Injustice (in the forms of racism, prejudice and governmental policies that target our country’s most vulnerable people) prevails when silence is kept, when toxic attitudes are inherited, and when fear-mongering takes place.

I hope to raise up new attitudes and values in three specific ways: through teaching new generations of children, who in the 21st century have more access to information and resources than ever before; through a career in politics in which I hope to facilitate change from the inside of our government; and through embodying the change that I strive for. I aim to be an example of love, compassion and respect. If awarded the scholarship, I would use the money for my educational expenses, which would in turn allow me to reduce my employment hours and increase my time spent volunteering with community organisations that work to facilitate change.”

We loved it because of her determination to change attitudes. In the absence of bold political leadership, Australia cannot change unless its people do, and we think that young people like Sophie can be catalysts for this.

Editor’s note (July 2026): The following sections were added in 2026 for context.

Why Sophie’s Entry Stood Out

Of the more than 200 entries received, Sophie’s stood out for several reasons beyond the quality of her writing — though that was impressive in itself. Many entries described a single policy fix or a one-off initiative. Sophie’s response was different: she identified attitude as the root problem, and then outlined a three-pronged, lifelong personal commitment to addressing it. That long-term thinking — education, political engagement, and personal example working together — is exactly the kind of ambitious yet grounded vision the scholarship was designed to surface.

Her entry also demonstrated a quality that professional editors particularly admire: she made a strong claim (that Australia’s “fair go” ideal is often not reflected in practice) and then immediately supported it with concrete examples — racism, prejudice, and policies that disadvantage vulnerable communities. This is disciplined, persuasive writing, and it made her argument compelling without being preachy.

Finally, Sophie’s entry showed humility alongside ambition. She didn’t promise to single-handedly fix systemic injustice; she committed to embodying the values she champions and to using a scholarship award practically — to reduce paid work hours so she could volunteer more. That specificity and honesty resonated strongly with the judging panel.

About the 2014 Competition

The 2014 A Better Australia Scholarship received over 200 entries. The scholarship asked young Australians to think big about the change they wanted to see, questioning conventional political, economic or social wisdom.

The diversity of topics covered by entrants was genuinely heartening. Submissions touched on Indigenous reconciliation, mental health funding, rural access to education, environmental policy, and the treatment of asylum seekers — among many others. What united the strongest entries was not a shared ideology but a shared willingness to name a problem honestly and then propose a meaningful personal response to it.

What “Thinking Big” Actually Looks Like

It’s worth unpacking what the scholarship program meant by encouraging students to “think big.” It didn’t mean grand or vague declarations — quite the opposite. The entries that impressed the judges most were those that connected a large ambition to a specific, believable plan of action. Sophie’s entry is a model of this: her big idea (shifting Australia’s cultural attitudes toward a genuine fair go) is backed by three concrete commitments she was already positioned to pursue.

Thinking big also meant being willing to question assumptions that most people treat as settled. Several of that year’s top entries challenged ideas that rarely get debated in mainstream political discourse — the structure of the tax system, the definition of economic growth, what “integration” really means for new migrants. That willingness to interrogate the obvious is one of the most valuable things a university education can cultivate.

Sophie’s approach offers a useful template for anyone writing this kind of persuasive, cause-driven essay: identify a root cause rather than a symptom, articulate why you personally are placed to address it, and describe your plan in terms of actions rather than hopes.