Throughout a remarkable UWA journey spanning nearly five decades, Dr Enid Sedgwick (BA ‘61, GradDipEp ‘67, BSW ‘82, MA ‘88, PhD ‘09) demonstrated a passion for education with unwavering enthusiasm. Her story embodies the spirit of intellectual curiosity and personal growth that defines the UWA community; a testament to the joy of lifelong learning.
In tribute to Dr Sedgwick’s love of language and learning, the University has been enriched by her generous bequest, supporting the Enid Sedgwick Teaching Fellowships in European Languages and Cultures, as well as the perpetual endowment of the Sedgwick Languages Scholarship – gifts that will impact student experiences and touch many lives for generations to come.
Image: Dr Enid Sedgwick at her graduation at UWA, 2009
Dr Sedgwick’s fascination with cross-cultural engagement stemmed from time spent in Germany as part of a scholarship during her formative years, and later reflected in her PhD, a study of the German literary influence in early Australian literature, “kulturelle Beziehungen”.
Her bequest ensures that the School of Humanities in European Languages and Studies will flourish through two Enid Sedgwick Teaching Fellows appointed in 2025.
Dr Iris Ludewig-Rohwer (German Studies, Dr Sedgwick’s home discipline) and Dr Simon Tebbitt (Italian Studies) will bring fresh perspectives to educate our future language experts, representing Dr Sedgwick’s belief in dedicated scholars who can inspire the next generation of linguists and build bridges across cultures. There are also plans for additional fellows in French and Spanish.
Dr Sedgwick’s vision extended beyond faculty support. She believed that real language mastery arose from connection and conversation – engaging with native speakers, listening to local dialects and absorbing nuances that textbooks cannot teach. She understood the transformative power of cultural immersion and the importance of experiencing language by living in it.
This conviction led her to establish the Sedgwick Languages Scholarship in 2009, supporting it throughout her lifetime and beyond. This bursary supports a Bachelor of Arts student every year, who is enrolled in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese or Korean Studies, with the funding vital for travel to countries where these languages are spoken.
The current 2025 scholarship recipient Joshua Rogers is studying a Bachelor of Modern Languages and Bachelor of Arts, and he recently travelled to Italy for a language and cultural immersion at the Università degli studi di Bergamo.
“I am so grateful to have had such a wonderful opportunity to experience another culture,” Joshua said. “The constant immersion while studying in Italy really benefitted my speaking and listening skills. Thanks to Dr Sedgwick, I will remember this summer adventure for the rest of my life!”
Image: Joshua Rogers in Italy
From ordering meals in Italian, visiting cathedrals and art galleries, and forging new friendships across cultures, Joshua’s journey represents the transformative experience that Dr Sedgwick championed.
Through the generous gift of these fellowships and scholarship, Dr Sedgwick ensures generations of UWA students continue to have access to life-changing cultural experiences that broaden perspectives and foster global citizenship.
Her bequest is a reminder that the greatest gifts are those that keep giving, enriching lives forever by kindling that same passion for language and learning that illuminated her own extraordinary life.