A LACK of financial aid for university students coming from rural areas is what drives Ella Bischoff to advocate for change.
The fourth generation Tamrookum woman is using her voice as the 2024 Queensland Country Life Showgirl runner-up to raise awareness about the issue.
Ella, 20, is two and a half years into a five-year veterinary science degree at James Cook University in Townsville and has experienced the challenges first hand.
Amid the juggle, she prioritises her showgirl duties including attending agricultural shows around Queensland whenever she can.
“It’s about connecting with different communities and promoting the showgirl competition,” she said.
“It’s not Miss Showgirl anymore, you can be married, you can have kids, it’s not a beauty contest, it’s about your leadership and passion for your community and ag in general.”
She is making the most of her platform as showgirl.
“Every showgirl has their own causes they’re really passionate about. For me, it’s the lack of financial aid for uni students coming from rural areas,” she said.
“I will continue to speak about that in my role and be very passionate about moving forward to hopefully raise some awareness about a big issue that’s affecting a lot of farm kids who would like to go to university.
“In my degree, we spend 52 weeks on placement – that’s one fifth of the degree – and we have to pay for everything out of pocket, like accommodation and travel costs. I’m going to Charters Towers at the end of the year and the cheapest accommodation will still cost me about $3000 for three weeks.
“There’s a huge lack of those professionals out in rural and remote areas and yet we don’t want to help students go out there for placements where that’s their opportunity to know if they want to work in those communities.”
Ella’s biggest fans – like her grandmother Coral and parents Debbie and Peter – still live in the area, where the family has a deep history in the local show movement.
“There is still a Bischoff pretty much everywhere you look,” she said.
