It was smiles all-around when five Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and five local TAFE students received scholarships from the V8 Supercars organisation to assist with their studies. The scholarships, with a total value of $23 000, were presented at a ceremony at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst on Thursday 8 October in the lead-up to the annual ‘Great Race’ at Mount Panorama. Four students from the CSU School of Communication - Ms Kate Prince, Ms Melissa Gompes, Mr Thomas Lowrey, and Mr Joshua Manning - and one from the CSU School of Nursing, Ms Clare Pithers, received scholarships. They were congratulated by the Mayor of Bathurst, Councillor Paul Toole, Chief Operations Officer with V8 Supercars, Mr Shane Howard, CSU Head of Campus at Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, and by Associate Professor Rod McCulloch, Head of the CSU School of Communication at Bathurst. Journalism student Ms Melissa Gompes received The Peter Brock Memorial Scholarship in association with V8 Supercars and Bathurst Regional Council. Ms Gompes gave the vote of thanks on behalf of all students, stressing how much the financial assistance was appreciated. During proceedings it was noted that several of the TAFE students who received scholarships intend to study at CSU in 2010.