TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and Scholarships

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Up to 10 TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and Scholarships are awarded each year, to support exemplary Queensland students to pursue tertiary studies.

State and non-state secondary schools can nominate 1 high achieving Year 12 student for this award. Nominees should demonstrate outstanding leadership in their school and community and academic excellence.

History of the scholarship

The TJ Ryan Memorial Medal represents a long-standing tradition of recognising educational achievement in Queensland. The award is a memorial to Thomas Joseph Ryan, former teacher, barrister and Queensland Premier (1915–1919), and are provided to students who demonstrate a strong commitment to high academic achievement and outstanding leadership in both their school and the local community.

From 1927 to 1970, the TJ Ryan Memorial Scholarship was awarded to the student who achieved the highest result in the state scholarship examination. The scholarship program ceased with the end of these public examinations.

In 1993, the TJ Ryan Awards were re-introduced by the Queensland Government. The award was open to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who demonstrated academic excellence and who displayed leadership qualities through their achievements in Year 12. From 1996, the awards were expanded to all students who demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities and academic excellence during their senior years at high school.

In 2003, the award was renamed the TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and Scholarships but has also been known as the Premier's Awards and the Lilley Medal.

View what others say about the scholarship (duration 2.59 minutes) – transcript.

Award details

Each year, the Queensland Department of Education awards:

up to 10 TJ Ryan Memorial Medallists

a scholarship of up to $10,000 over 5 years
a certificate of recognition

up to 5 TJ Ryan Highly Commended awards

a one-off cash payment of $1,000
a certificate of recognition

up to 20 TJ Ryan Merit awards

a certificate of merit.

How schools nominate their candidate

Each Queensland secondary school can submit only 1 nominee.

Review the Nomination Guidelines provided
Schools determine their 1 nominee
Review the nomination process with the selected nominee to prepare a nomination

Student nominee submits the nomination.

Gather all supporting documents (as listed in the scholarship checklist provided on Smart Jobs).
Visit Smart Jobs to nominate yourself for the scholarship.
Click the green 'apply online' button at the bottom of that page to proceed—you may need to create an account.
When logged in to the Smart Jobs account, complete the online questionnaire and upload all required supporting documents by the closing date.

Enquiries and further information

Nominations for the 2024 TJ Ryan Memorial Medal and Scholarship program have now closed. Subscribe to receive an email alert when applications for the 2025 scholarship program opens in Term 4.

If you have any questions about this scholarship, contact our Scholarships and Grants team by email at scholarships@qed.qld.gov.au or phone (07) 3055 2991.

2024 award recipients

Medallists

Aquila Fisher, Mackay Christian College

Jai Katene, Robina State High School

Jessnee Ng, Coolum State High School

Makenzie Newton, St Hilda's School

Myuri Gopalapillai, Trinity Anglican School

Samuel Brown, Queensland Academy for Health Sciences

Saranna Argent, Marsden State High School

Sean Lunney, Palm Beach-Currumbin State High School

Sophie Wall, Mountain Creek State High School

William Anderson, Toowoomba Grammar School

Highly commended

Aaron Smith, St. Johns Anglican College

Alexander Finney, Padua College

Alyssa Pease, Toolooa State High School

Betty Angeli, Lourdes Hill College

Darius Esmail-Zadeh, Tropical North Learning Academy—Smithfield State High School

Georgia Herbener, Bundaberg State High School

Grace Quin, Kirwan State High School

Lily Mifsud, Whitsunday Anglican School

Luke Haken, Gladstone State High School

Rebecca Mullock, Burnside State High School

Sam Rogers, Proserpine State High School

Merit

Amos Wallis, Dalby Christian College

Ayana Saju, Nerang State High School

Cate Ward, Loreto College

Chaz Nelder, St Augustine's College (Cairns)

Chloe Avenell, St Mary's College (Ipswich)

Eleanor Schick, St Mary's Catholic College (Kingaroy)

Ella Woodburn, Chancellor State College

Emily Fox, Craigslea State High School

Erin Walsh, Assumption College

Ethan Kropp, James Nash State High School

Gabrielle Spiclin, Caloundra City Private School

Grace Waters, St George State High School

Hayley Kirkpatrick, Noosa District State High School

Holly Jennings, Wellington Point State High School

Jack Gorman, Kenmore State High School

Joseph Lewis, Marist College Ashgrove

Karen Waters, Mabel Park State High School

Larissa Frost, Pioneer State High School

Laura McCormick, North Lakes State College

Madison Powell, Emerald State High School

Marissa Mali, Grace Lutheran College (Caboolture)

Molly Quant, Bracken Ridge State High School

Nathan McMullen, Helensvale State High School

Noah Felton, Elanora State High School

Olivia Bennett, Kingston State College

Poppy Taylor, Beerwah State High School

Prabhjot Singh, MacGregor State High School

Ethan Kropp, James Nash State High School

Gabrielle Spiclin, Caloundra City Private School

Grace Waters, St George State High School

Hayley Kirkpatrick, Noosa District State High School

Holly Jennings, Wellington Point State High School

Jack Gorman, Kenmore State High School

Joseph Lewis, Marist College Ashgrove

Karen Waters, Mabel Park State High School

Larissa Frost, Pioneer State High School

Laura McCormick, North Lakes State College

Madison Powell, Emerald State High School

Marissa Mali, Grace Lutheran College (Caboolture)

Molly Quant, Bracken Ridge State High School

Nathan McMullen, Helensvale State High School

Noah Felton, Elanora State High School

Olivia Bennett, Kingston State College

Poppy Taylor, Beerwah State High School

Prabhjot Singh, MacGregor State High School

Renee McKeering, St Ursula's College (Yeppoon)

Sarah Bourke, St Patrick's College (Townsville)

Sarah Onoprienko, Isis District State High School

T'ea Page, Maryborough State High School

Thomas Somerville, Benowa State High School

Trista Kopeshke, Ingham State High School

Yvette Hardy, Trinity Bay State High School

Zachary Hampson, North Rockhampton State High School

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Scholarships