Level 2, 18 Wally's Walk
Macquarie University NSW 2109
A donor's story - why Dirk gives to scholarships
Alumnus Dirk Chinchen (BA 1989) shares what motivates him to give back and why he wants to help other students further their education.
Believing in the power of education
It wasn’t a straightforward path that took Behavioural Sciences Graduate and banking industry senior relationship expert Dirk Chinchen to his Graduation in 1989. In fact, it is only with remarkable determination that he achieved this success – eight years after commencing his studies as an undergraduate at Macquarie University. Starting part-time and thinking that accountancy was right for him, it took three years to come to the understanding that this was not in fact the best fit for him. Realising a change needed to happen, he took some time to gather his thoughts, travel and seek advice from trusted friends and family members before re-starting at MQ with a Behavioural Sciences focus. His greatly improved results demonstrated clearly that making the difficult decision to change direction was the right thing to do. Dirk Graduated with a BA in 1989.
Don’t be concerned if you’re not 100% certain what you want to do when you start. Just get started (or gap year of course) and work it out.
Fast-forward a few years, and Dirk freely admits to being “over the moon” that two of his children are now Macquarie Graduates and very successful in their chosen fields already. His son works for Atlassian in San Francisco and daughter for the NSW Government. Following an enforced delay, Dirk is delighted that his daughter will now enjoy a Graduation ceremony in the fitting surrounds of the new Graduation Hall at Macquarie University.
When asked about why he now donates in support of scholarships at MQ, Dirk simply and humbly says…
In the past 12 months I’ve been thinking about the amazing opportunity that Macquarie has afforded to my family and have started giving to assist other students who perhaps could do with some financial assistance along the way.
As Macquarie Graduates continue to influence the global workforce, the need to support our current students continues to grow, so thank you Dirk for the difference you make, and sharing in the belief of the power of education.