Melbourne AWARD School names Timothy Woolford top student of 2012 class

Wednesday 22, August 2012 at 11:09 AM by CB

Timothy Woolford (near left) was named top of his class at Melbourne's AWARD School graduation ceremony held last night (16th August) at the Smart Artz Gallery, South Melbourne.

Melbourne AWARD School heads, Jay Hynes (far left) and David Ponce De Leon, announced that the honours for top AWARD School student went to Woolford.

Commenting on the announcement, AWARD chairman, Craig Davis, congratulated all the students singled out by the judges.

The top 10 students included: Stacey Karayannis, Scott Canning, Angus Smallwood, Sharnee Taylor, Clydie Matruglio, Lee Spencer-Michaelsen, Mario Djuhadi, Tim Cooper and Hayley Wells.

Says Davis: "It's exciting that there's such great talent coming through in our industry and we're delighted to

see Timothy leading the way among this year's graduates."

Margaret Zabel, CEO of The Communications Council, welcomed the news and thanked all those involved in making AWARD School such a valuable introduction to the industry.

Says Zabel: "We are lucky to have such talented professionals willing to give up their time to help guide the next generation of creative talent on their career paths. Congratulations to all the top graduates; we look forward to following your progress over the coming years."

(Pictured left: David Ponce De Leon and Wilf Sweetland)

AWARD acknowledges the following individuals

for their involvement in tutoring in Victoria: Michael Mulcahy (DDB); Kate Lightfoot (Ogilvy One); Dave Scott (Ogilvy One); Richard Overall (Freeform); Tim Forte (Freeform); Dan Forrestal (Freeform); Chris Schoolman (Creative Results); James Orr (Leo Burnett); Elle Bullen (Leo Burnett); George Freckleton (AJF); Glen Dalton (AJF); Brent Bliebenberg (AJF); Aaron Pepper (GPYR); Connor Beaver (GPYR); Brett Colliver (Clemenger BBDO); Simon Bagnasco (Clemenger BBDO).

Says Davis: "The tutors are an imperative part of the AWARD School program and their expertise is a key element of preparing students for a future in the industry. We commend all the tutors, whose roles involve long hours and ongoing deadlines and demands."

Sponsored by Google, AWARD School is a 16-week, part time course which runs from March to July each year in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Hobart. The course, which also runs in Auckland and Singapore, consists of a Monday evening lecture and a Thursday evening tutorial, held inside agencies by industry practitioners. To be accepted onto the course, each applicant must submit a folio of work based on the brief set by the Heads of AWARD School. Students are selected purely on the merit of the ideas in their application.

The judging panel responsible for selection of the top students in Melbourne included: Eric Blakeway (BWM); Frank Trobbiani (Marmalade); Bruce Williams (Cubed); Jason Ross (CumminsRoss); Sarah McGregor (Leo Burnett) and Evan Roberts.

AWARD School guest speakers included: Frank Trobbiani (Marmalade); Ben Keenan (Clemenger BBDO); Michael Hyde (Carat Media); Brendan Guthrie (DDB); Tim Holmes (DDB); Alex Wadelton (GPYR); Nick McDonald (A3 Recruitment); Chris Northam (GPYR); Matt Scotten (Naked); Melissa Ross (Naked); Rob Beamish (JWT); Doug Chapman (M&C Saatchi).