Cobar's Chad Buckman awarded Origin Energy scholarship for UNSW studies

A talented rider who competed at a high level on the BMX scene, Cobar-based Chad loved being on the bike but it was clear from that early age he also got a real kick out of the design process.

"We ended up building about a quarter-size scale track in our backyard, which was pretty awesome," the now 19-year-old Kamilaroi man said.

"As a kid I was always building jumps and Mum was never too happy taking dirt out of the gardens and building them into ramps.

"At that stage I was still very young but Dad had his sketch profile and I would always have a tinker and see what features I could implement."

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The passion for design has never left Chad and it's been rewarded with a scholarship to help make the move to the University of NSW in Sydney and study a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours).

Chad was officially awarded 2023 Origin Energy Foundation Grant King Indigenous Scholarship on Wednesday night at the university.

The full residential scholarship is awarded to two students a year and it allows them to live on campus while they complete a degree in science or engineering at UNSW.

"That's life-changing," Chad said.

"I've been able to play so much more sport and get involved in student projects just because I have so much time now when otherwise I would have had to get a job and save money for accommodation."

The passion for design and construction started early with LEGO - "it always does," laughed Chad - and has never disappeared.

The Dux of 2022 at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School, Chad also made the HSC Honour Roll for both Engineering Studies and Mathematics Advanced.

"As a young person I could introduced to CAD (computer-aided design) and our school was lucky enough to have a 3D printer so whatever you designed you could build and that was fascinating to me," he said.

The design and printing started with simple things like broken handles but quickly advanced to the level of remote-controlled planes and cars and then drones.

As excited as he is to now continue his learning and see where it takes him, the ultimate location for Chad is within Formula 1.

"That's the dream and the pinnacle and where I want to get. It's somewhere I would be pretty excited to get to," he said.

"The design of the car. I'd say they're the best cars in the world and the fastest around the perimeters they were given."

Head of the Origin Energy Foundation Michelle Zahra said the Grant King Indigenous Scholarship scholarship program was intended to address the under-representation of First Nations peoples in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) based careers.

"Coming from a small country town, especially a mining town, your career path is always sort of towards the trades and labouring and I hope this is refreshing for some kids to see," Chad said of his scholarship.

"It's always a matter of just applying yourself. You don't need to go in with the expectation you'll get it, but if you don't apply there's no possibility of getting it.

"The principal of Farrer said in my first few days 'you'll get out of Farrer what you put in' and it's so true. You can't accomplish great things if you don't try and accomplish great things."

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