PwC and the UQ Union launched the award at the beginning of 2009 to recognise students who not only achieve excellent academic results, but also participate and excel in activities outside of the lecture theatre.

A full-time student, Drummond balances her studies with the pressures of being an elite athlete, and is a seven-time Australian age champion for high jump.

"We know that UQ is home to some amazing talent and were really proud to promote the PwC Excellence award on campus," UQ Union President Brandon Carter said.

Drummond is also currently co-writing two papers on the critical analysis of mental health representation and the relationship between the principle of non-interference and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in South-east Asia.

"Catherine was unanimously selected based on her capacity to combine strong academic performance with an outstanding extracurricular experience and we look forward to meeting Catherine next month when she flies to Sydney to receive her award," PwC HC Campus Program Manager Kate Scott said.

"Throughout the application review we were overwhelmed with the number of outstanding applicants who demonstrate extraordinary talent, tenacity and passion in their chosen field."

The PwC Excellence Award is run nationally. It is a collaborative partnership between PwC and universities to identify those students who are the leaders of tomorrow.