Ten years after proud alumnus, staff member and social justice ambassador Lawrence Vidoni passed away, his family reflect on the life of their son and brother in whose memory they created a scholarship to support UTS students with a disability – and the student who inspired them to expand and extend their support.
Silvana, Daniel and Giulio share memories of Lawrence in pictures. Daniel is wearing Lawrence’s favourite shirt.
When beloved equity advocate, UTS graduate and staff member Lawrence Vidoni passed away in 2012 at the age of 42, his elder brother Daniel and parents Silvana and Giulio were devastated. Inspired by Lawrence’s characteristic altruism and remarkable achievements, they decided to honour his life by creating a scholarship dedicated to helping UTS students with a physical disability.
Neither my brother nor I ever wanted to be defined by our disability and had to work extra hard to compensate for it, says Daniel Vidoni. We got educated to amplify our minds and create more opportunities for ourselves, and now we are holding the door open for the next generation.
An immensely proud and active member of the UTS community, Lawrence Vidoni forged a path to the university that would come to define his adult life. This path was the result of sheer tenacity, and the love and support of his family.
Giulio and Silvana Vidoni emigrated to Australia in the 1960s from small towns in the northeastern region of Italy, with nothing but two suitcases and $150 to their name. They built a life for themselves from scratch, supported by a tight-knit group of fellow immigrant friends.
They married and had two sons; Daniel, followed by Lawrence 20 months later. Both were born with a rare neuro-muscular disease that profoundly affected their physical abilities, including breathing independently.
Despite this and the frustrations of living in an ableist society, the brothers found strength in each other and went on to lead rich and fulfilling lives.
Daniel and Lawrence sit in the car they purchased together, which offered them a new lease on life.
“We discovered that two disabled people, when working together, synthesised a very convincing non-disabled person,” says Daniel. “This would define our lives.”
Plagued with illness as teenagers, the brothers’ schooling was severely affected. Undeterred by the lack of a university offer, Lawrence enrolled in a two-year tertiary preparatory course. After only 12 months, he was fast-tracked into a Bachelor of Social Science at UTS.
It took him six long years to complete part-time, but his graduation in 2000 was a proud moment for the entire family.
“I was standing right next to him for the whole degree,” says Daniel, smiling. “He made so many friends, because for him it wasn’t just about the degree – it was about involvement in university life.”
Lawrence even won the Elizabeth Hastings Award for Community Contribution in recognition of the active role he took in student life, including being elected to Student Council.
His time as a student at UTS would lay the groundwork for his future.
Lawrence’s aptitude for policy and negotiation, complemented by his profound empathy, was noticed and he was promptly recruited as an Equity and Diversity Officer at UTS – a role he relished and in which he took great pride for the next decade.
Daniel wears Lawrence’s bracelet – a match of his own in weight and material, but in a different style. These were gifted to the brothers by Silvana to symbolise their unique bond.
Making his mark in the role, Lawrence ensured UTS became substantially more accessible for people living with a disability, transforming the campus and the policy framework beyond his lifetime. His dedication to ensuring disability awareness was integrated into every aspect of UTS planning and initiatives was recognised in 2012 when he was named as recipient of the UTS Award for Exceptional Contribution to Social Justice.
And it was this legacy that Daniel, Giulio and Silvana sought to continue by providing for future UTS students through the scholarship they established in 2017 and named for their brother and son.
As Daniel puts it, “He doesn’t have a voice any more, but what he started was worth continuing. I think he would approve.”
For his mother, it is even more personal.
“We wanted to give back to Australia somehow for all the help they gave us in hospital keeping Daniel and Lawrence alive,” says Silvana Vidoni. “That time was an unbearable, unbelievable nightmare.”
In August of 2021, the family met the current Lawrence Vidoni Scholarship recipient. They connected so profoundly with the student that they made the generous decision to extend the scholarship, ensuring it would support recipients for the duration of their degree rather than just one year. This allows students to focus on their coursework, immerse themselves fully in university life, and stay on track to graduate.
“The Lawrence Vidoni Scholarship reduces one of the many barriers that students with disabilities may face when accessing education,” says Liz Penny, Manager of Accessibility and Financial Assistance Service at UTS.
“It enables them the opportunity to participate fully in their studies and gives them the confidence and assurance to plan for their professional futures. While challenges remain in providing inclusive education and employment settings, this scholarship is a great contribution towards improvement, assisting the trajectory of many deserving students.”
The Vidoni family hopes that the scholarship will reduce at least one of the burdens faced by students with a disability.
“When I spoke with the recipient, it wasn’t difficult to see my younger self in her,” says Daniel. “I remembered being her age and facing some of her problems – problems that other people don’t have to deal with. But she hasn’t got a choice and she hasn’t given up, she’s doing the best she can and if we can help her – and people like her – that’s a privilege.”
For the recipient, who wishes to remain anonymous, receiving the scholarship meant she could focus on pursuing a creative career in animation.
“Having the safety blanket of this scholarship has helped me enormously because now I don’t have to worry about anything except my studies,” she says. “It is allowing me to dream big and start building my career. I’m incredibly grateful to the entire Vidoni family for making study at UTS more accessible, and I feel lucky to have been chosen and supported in this way.”
In another extraordinary act of generosity, the family also made an ongoing commitment to support the scholarship every year for the foreseeable future.
“I like the idea that Lawrence’s spirit wafts through the halls of UTS through this scholarship, and that he continues to help others in death as he did in life," says Daniel.