Riley (he/him)

Hello, my name is Riley. I am currently a second year Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine student at the University of England in Armidale and am due to finish my studies by the end of 2025.

I grew up on the border of New South Wales and Queensland in a country town called Murwillumbah. After graduating high school, I moved to Sydney to study Mechatronics Engineering where I graduated with honours. However, shortly after graduating I realised that I desired a career which was facilitative of building stronger community connections and provides the ability to make a more focussed impact on society; this led me to the path to re-study in medicine.

I am currently on the executive of three different LGBTIQ+ and medical university societies, I volunteer within my local St. Johns Ambulance division, and I currently serve within the Australian Army Reserves. I take pride in establishing roots and giving back to the community wherever life takes me.

Following my degree and completion of formal medicine training, I aspire to become a Rural Specialist General Practitioner or General Surgeon providing support to regional and rural communities. I see a need for doctors in rural communities to be ambassadors for complex medical topics like PrEP, trans and gender diverse health.  These areas are often misunderstood or not strong area of knowledge for practicing doctors in rural towns.

A massive thank you to Duncan Peerman and Paul Zahra and The Pinnacle Foundation for your generous donation on behalf of myself and all past and future Pinnacle scholars. This scholarship provides the opportunity for scholars like me to achieve goals within university and its surrounding environment not previously possible.