Top Scholars Honour Korea-New Zealand Connections

Top Scholars Honour Korea-New Zealand Connections

Three outstanding young New Zealanders have been awarded David Holborow Memorial Scholarships, designed to deepen understanding between New Zealand and Korea.

Every year, the Asia New Zealand Foundation awards three scholarships in memory of David Holborow, a former New Zealand Ambassador to Korea. Two scholarships are awarded to New Zealand students of Korean descent; the third is given to the descendant of a Korean War veteran.

The recipients of the $4000 scholarships not only have excellent academic records but have also demonstrated leadership skills, and are committed to building positive relations between Asia and New Zealand.

The 2013 recipients are:

• Justin Jang – secondary scholarship winner. Justin, 18, was Head Boy at St John’s College in Hamilton in 2012 and will begin his first-year studies in health sciences at the University of Auckland this year. He plans to study medicine and hopes to ultimately work in neurosurgery. As the college’s first Head Boy of Asian descent, he worked to make international students from Asia feel more comfortable in the school. As well as receiving many prizes for academic excellence at school, he was co-captain of the first XI football team, an outstanding athlete, and a grade 8 violinist.
• Jun Lee – tertiary scholarship winner. Sixteen-year-old Jun has completed his first year of health sciences at the University of Otago and has been accepted into the Bachelor of Medicine degree. He plans to specialise in oncology and hopes to join the search for a cure for cancer, working with researchers in Asia and New Zealand. Jun was Dux of Wellington’s Scots College when he was in year 10, and started university at the age of 15. He is also a passionate musician, a keen chess player, and has a black belt in Taekwon-Do.
• Imogen Holmstead-Scott – winner of the scholarship for descendants of Korean War veterans. Imogen, 19, is majoring in political science and psychology at Victoria University of Wellington, and received a Victoria Excellence Scholarship for her first year of study. She is also a talented singer-songwriter and musician. Imogen’s grandfather, Ernest George Holmstead, was an air gunner in the Korean War and received three medals for his involvement. He is now aged 93, and Imogen has interviewed him twice about his experiences in the war.

Mr Holborow founded the Korean Studies Programme in 1992 to enhance New Zealanders’ understanding of Korea. Through this programme, scholarships have been offered to outstanding young New Zealand students of Korean descent since 1999. An extra scholarship for descendants of Korean War veterans was introduced in 2005.

Asia New Zealand Foundation is a non-partisan and non-profit organisation dedicated to building New Zealanders’ knowledge and understanding of Asia. It offers a range of programmes including business, culture, education, media, research and a Young Leaders Network.

ENDS

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