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