A Brisbane law graduate from far north Queensland is the state’s 2025 Rhodes Scholar.
Matisse Reed, who works as an associate to Justice Kylie Downes of the Federal Court of Australia, received the news she was the state’s newest recipient of the world’s oldest and most prestigious international scholarship program from Queensland Governor Jeannette Young at Government House in Brisbane yesterday.
Ms Reed graduated from the University of Queensland last year, boasting a GPA of 6.9 and with the University Medal in Law and the UQ Law Society Medal for Outstanding Achievement among her honours.
She said she would use her Rhodes Scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in law and public policy at the University of Oxford from 2025, with a focus on international humanitarian and human rights law.
Ms Reed grew up in the far north Queensland town of Herberton, where her educator parents led a small boarding school comprising primarily of Indigenous students from the northern communities of Australia.
She said that growing up in Herberton meant she was confronted by the realities of disadvantage from a unique perspective; that of inherent privilege.
“I came to understand that education is a gift synonymous with opportunity,” she said.
“Education is financial literacy, the ability to make informed choices around relationships and reproductive decisions, and education can open doors to move beyond persistent cycles of poverty and persecution.
“In my view, humanity’s most pressing challenge is that millions around the world live without access to education and access to opportunity.
“My Rhodes Scholarship is a gift of education that I will strive to pay forward for the rest of my life.”
