A Timboon young achiever has been studying at Longerenong College after earning a DemoDAIRY Foundation scholarship for his passions.
Dmitry Tolmachev moved to Timboon about 18 months ago with his family after finding a passion for the outdoors and for agriculture.
He moved to Australia with his parents and older brother at one-year-old, and lived in Hoppers Crossing for about 15 years before his family relocated to south-west Victoria.
Now, Mr Tolmachev is studying an Agribusiness Management advanced diploma at Longerenong College and pursuing his interest in farming through the DemoDairy Foundation school leaver scholarship.
"I really enjoyed the change of pace out in the country," he said.
"When we bought the farm, I was exposed to a whole new life, and it really perked my interest in agriculture as a whole.
"I couldn't see myself living in the city or having a job in the city."
Mr Tolmachev is set to complete his advanced diploma in 2024, and said he saw many opportunities in agriculture.
"I'm not exactly sure what I want to do but it could be on a cropping farm, or agronomy, which is one of the subjects I find interesting, or I might go home and have a crack at the dairy industry," he said.
"There's a lot of exposure to livestock and cropping in the course and it opens up many potential job areas in farm and business management."
He said the scholarship had been incredibly helpful to put towards Longerenong College.
"The scholarship helped make the course more affordable and allow me to have a bit more savings," he said.
"The course was a bit daunting at first being away from family but I've really taken to it and learn something new every day, even just from talking to my peers.
"A lot of them are from cropping and livestock farms so you get to see their world from their perspective."
DemoDAIRY Foundation is currently seeking applications for 2024 scholarships, closing on November 25.
