Gemma-Mae Stemp loves horses. She loves riding, looking after them and studying them.
“With my intellectual disability, there are things that I can’t do that other people can. But when I’m on my horse, I feel normal,” she says.
Gemma-Mae late last month became one of the inaugural recipients of a Lynne Kosky Memorial VCAL scholarship.
The 15-year-old Kurunjang Secondary College student will study for a certificate II in equine studies in the hope of one day joining Victoria Police’s mounted branch.
Gemma-Mae says she recently bought her horse, Matilda, and “being with it is the best thing ever”.
The scholarship will pay for her course fees, which, she says, her family would have had trouble paying.
The win came as a relief for the teen and her family.
“I was so excited when we received it – we never thought I’d get it,” she says. “We never seem to have any luck with scholarships or sponsorships, so it was a very good surprise for all of us.”
The scholarships honour former Labor MP Lynne Kosky, who died in early December last year. They are available to year 10 students studying for a Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning and are valued at up to $25,000.
