Ms Hayden is a recent Dubbo College graduate who has been awarded one of the University of Melbourne's Hansen Scholarships to help with her studies.

Having now moved down to Melbourne, Ms Hayden is still in shock after being given a scholarship by one of the biggest universities in Australia.

"It feels completely amazing, it still feels like a dream, I really didn't expect that I would actually get it," she said.

"To have actually won it is life changing, I cannot express how grateful I am to have won it."

The Hansen Scholarship is awarded to talented individuals who may struggle financially to access a top-quality education with the the successful recipients being awarded accommodation, an allowance, and financial and personal support.

Ms Hayden said she discovered the scholarship in quite an interesting way when looking at different universities to attend post-high school.

"The way we actually found it was through my mother, she Googled 'country's best scholarships for university' which sounds ridiculous but it is what she Googled," she said.

"The Hansen Scholarship was at the top of the list so she said I should try out for it and give it a shot, so I did, really not expecting to get it.

"The reason I chose this scholarship to apply for was because of how much it supports you, not just financially, it is very clear that is very financially supportive but academically and socially.

"Every single way this scholarship supports you."

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After moving from Trangie to Melbourne, Ms Hayden admitted she has settled in nicely but is still getting used to city life after beginning her studies earlier this year.

"[I've settled in] really well, because of the scholarship I've had mentoring and been rooming with people who I absolutely adore," she said.

"All of the other scholars are amazing, they are all so clever and come from different backgrounds unlike mine but we are similar in the way that we have all overcome different disadvantages.

"We're all really grateful to be here, it's such a big difference coming from a small town to a massive city."

Ms Hayden said just getting to university was difficult enough after overcoming several challenges just to get her HSC, after choosing to undertake her high schooling studies in Dubbo.

"It was really hard, I'd get up at 6am to leave home at 6:45am then get to school at 9am," she said.

"It was a massive day and on top of that I was working three jobs just to save for university.

"So I didn't have any time to study after school, I really had to use my class time.

"But now I'm a block away from the university and I can study as much as I need too."

Despite her challenges, Ms Hayden still managed to achieve academic excellence in the eyes of the University of Melbourne.

While she hasn't got a particular career in mind her passion for arts has led the international politics and philosophy student to complying a couple of ideas about where she could possibly end up after graduating.

"I don't really know yet, I'm thinking maybe foreign diplomacy like becoming a national ambassador or an investigative journalist," she said.

"I'm still trying to narrow it down but I know I'll get there and think of something."

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