18 years of the Mathew Peck Travelling Scholarship

As the Mathew Peck Travelling Scholarship comes to an end, four of its recipients reflect on the scholarship’s impact on their lives and careers.

Mathew Peck

The Mathew Peck Travelling Scholarship (also known as the Mathew Peck Travel Grant) has been providing opportunities for Monash Pharmacy students for almost twenty years.

Set up in 2003 and first awarded in 2004, over its lifetime the annual scholarship allowed 18 third or fourth year pharmacy students $5,000 towards travel and accommodation costs to experience work on international aid programs.

Mathew Peck was a popular pharmacy student at Monash. He had an interest in and passion for improving the lives of others through pharmacy.

After completing the first year of his Bachelor of Pharmacy, Mathew travelled to South America, where he tragically died. Through generous donations from Mathew’s family and other fundraising efforts, the scholarship was established to honour his name and his commitment to the field of pharmacy.

With the final scholarship now awarded, we take a look back at some of those who received the scholarship and find out how it impacted their lives.

Michael Nunan: “It changed my life”

Michael Nunan in Vanuatu

The inaugural winner of the scholarship, Michael Nunan was a personal friend of Mathew Peck, having completed the first year of pharmacy with him, and was involved in setting up the award in Mathew’s name.

“Previously, there had been plaques or trees planted to commemorate students, but it was decided to do something a bit more meaningful,” he explains. “So we did some fundraising – auction nights, trivia nights, that sort of thing.”

Being awarded that first scholarship took Michael to the Pacific.

“I went to Vanuatu and worked with an Australian pharmacist called Amanda Sandberg. She had been working in international development for quite a long time and took me under her wing,” says Michael.

His experiences were varied, involving both clinical pharmacy and supply chain work, as well as giving Michael the chance to work in a small provincial hospital. Just 21 at the time, it was while at the hospital that Michael witnessed some of the harsh realities of life for locals. A small toddler was brought into the hospital, having had diarrhoea for a few days. The child was very dehydrated, and despite the best efforts of staff he died soon after.

The incident, and his time in Vanuatu in general, changed the course of Michael’s life.

“It was quite traumatic, and a really profound moment,” Michael says. “It’s hard to go back to a normal life when you know that’s happening and there’s something you can do about it,” he explains.

After completing his degree and intern year, Michael headed to the Solomon Islands to work. And instead of pursuing community pharmacy as he’d originally planned, Michael has been in international development ever since. He’s worked in Timor-Leste, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Fiji and other countries and today runs his own company, Beyond Essential Systems, which develops free, open-source software tools and health supply chain solutions in developing countries and remote communities.

Reflecting on the scholarship’s importance to him, Michael says, “It isn’t any exaggeration to say it really changed my life.”

Alex Bongers: “The catalyst for my current career”

Alex Bongers donating resources to the Director of Health (Dr Stephen Homasi)

The chance to experience his discipline in another culture originally prompted Alex Bongers to apply for the scholarship.

“The opportunity to work overseas in a different area of pharmacy practice was incredibly appealing,” he says.

Alex was in the final year of his degree in 2010 when he was awarded the scholarship. He travelled overseas the following year.

“I was lucky enough to travel to Tuvalu to work alongside the chief pharmacist, Natano Elisala. Together, we completed a review on the management of type 2 diabetes in the country,” he explains.

Having only just graduated before going to Tuvalu, Alex recognises that the experience he gained in the country was very valuable.

“Importantly, it gave me exposure to a relatively unknown area of pharmacy practice and the opportunity to live and work in a beautiful Pacific island, as well as gain experience in managing a small project in unfamiliar settings.”

Receiving the scholarship and working in the Pacific region influenced the trajectory of Alex’s career. Upon registering as a pharmacist, he moved to Fiji to help set up clinical pharmacy services at a local hospital.

Alex continues to use the lessons learnt in Tuvalu in his current work. He has spent the past six years working throughout the Pacific region and in various African countries, as well as in Australia, across a range of pharmaceutical procurement and supply chain projects.

“The scholarship gave me exposure to the work in these settings and was the catalyst for my current career,” he notes.

As a consultant for Procurelink, he’s worked with a range of donors and partners, including the World Health Organization, Global Fund, Menzies School of Health Research and Beyond Essential Systems.

“It is difficult to imagine the same opportunities becoming available without the scholarship early in my career,” says Alex.

Elaine Kwong: “Once in a lifetime experience” 

It was a passing conversation with a previous recipient that sparked Elaine Kwong’s interest in the Mathew Peck Travelling Scholarship.

“I was interested in learning how the Australian healthcare system differs from other countries, and most importantly how we can support and give back to our global community,” Elaine says of her decision to apply.

Winning the scholarship in 2019, Elaine headed to the Solomon Islands and worked at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. There, she developed surveys to learn how drugs of addiction were stored and managed, and about the hospital’s pain ladder tool to help reduce opioid use.

Along with her pharmacy work, Elaine enjoyed hiking and sightseeing while in the Solomon Islands, and even attended a local wedding.

“Everything there was a new experience,” she explains. “It taught me to always be more empathetic, resilient and respectful, and have an open mindset to embrace others’ cultures.”

The work Elaine undertook in the Solomon Islands led her towards her current role, where she implements technological solutions and projects to improve healthcare and hospitals. Elaine is a digital health pharmacist and co-founder and CEO of Escollate, Australia’s first health tech platform that aims to engage staff, understand their problems and collate ideas.

“The scholarship helped me to listen and empathise, while having the courage to see different possibilities to improve,” Elaine says. “It was a once in a lifetime experience that shifted my mindset and attitudes towards how we can sustainably support other countries.”

Jake Bromley: “Unique opportunities”

In his fourth and final year of pharmacy at Monash, Jake Bromley began to think about his career options. When he heard about the Mathew Peck Travelling Scholarship, he was interested in what avenues it might open up for him.

“Prior to applying I read through the experiences of previous recipients,” he explains.

“The work they did sounded really appealing and the countries were often ones I either knew little about or had never considered visiting. This appealed to me as an opportunity to experience a part of the world, culture and health system that very few have the opportunity to see.”

In 2017 Jake travelled to Timor-Leste. While there, he worked on two projects. The projects saw him involved in mapping out health and disaster-management resources throughout Timor-Leste, and assessing the impact of a new pharmaceutical supply chain management system on critical drug availability in various areas of the country.

“I saw the scholarship as an opportunity to explore an area of work that may not be as explicitly taught or promoted at uni, but one that had so many unique opportunities and challenges, interesting learning experiences and amazing people to work with,” says Jake.

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