Scholarships Awarded To Three Top Students

Media release for immediate use – November 22 2010

Scholarships Awarded To Three Top Students

Three young Kiwi achievers are studying for final secondary school knowing they will head to university next year with the support of a Mike Pero Mortgages Foundation Scholarship.

Meghan Ashford, Daniel Garry and Rory McCourt are preparing for scholarship and NCEA exams at the end of what has been a hectic year for each of them, but all have welcomed the awarding of the scholarship.

Meghan Ashford has this year combined study with duties as Head Girl of Massey High School and preparation for, and competition in, the world aerobic championships. In fact, she was at the worlds in Holland when she was woken by a phone call to tell her she had won the scholarship.

“It’s the best 2am phone call I could have had,” she says “I have a busy life and I’m used to being busy, but winning this scholarship means I won’t have to work more part-time hours and can spend more time on my studies.”

Meghan plans to study biomedical science at University of Auckland with the aim of being accepted into medicine.

Daniel Garry will move from Alexandra next year to study at University of Canterbury. Last year, in Year 12 he achieved Scholarship Mathematics with Statistics, which, added to sciences and maths this year, are preparing him to study engineering at tertiary level.

“I’ve been busy this year and have had to develop good time management,” he says. “As well as my studies, I have trained for and competed in Australia in the trans-Tasman Shukokai karate championships. I got a second placing and a third and am pretty happy with that.”

Daniel says he has always been interested in building and designing things and will study civil engineering.

Rory McCourt plans to study for a double degree at Victoria, majoring in History and Political Science. He is fascinated by the impact policy decisions have on people’s lives, in particular the interaction between the state and various groups.

This year he travelled from Gisborne to England as a member of the New Zealand Young Shakespeare perform at the Globe Theatre and says his years of drama have taught him about perspective.

“I am keen to study more about the combination of those perspectives gained through history and drama,” he says.

Rory says winning the Mike Pero Mortgages Foundation Scholarship will make “a huge difference.”

“My Mum is a sole parent and has had a back injury, so I have worked part-time over the past three years to support myself. The scholarship means I won’t have to work more and can focus on my study rather than on finances.”

Shaun Riley says the selection panel had a very difficult task to select three final candidates from more than 1000 applications. He says the standard of applications was very impressive.

“The three recipients, Daniel, Rory and Meghan, are very talented students and we believe they will do very well at university. They are all well-rounded individuals who are committed to giving something back to the community,” he says.

The Scholarship Programme is a nationwide initiative open to all New Zealand students, aged between 17 and 25, embarking on their first year of tertiary study.

Shaun Riley says the Programme has proven to be very successful since it was introduced five years ago.

“We are thrilled with the response we’ve had from students around the country. Every year we get more people applying for the Scholarship Programme. It’s fair to say it’s going from strength to strength and we are committed to continue providing options for students who show a real dedication to their studies and who may find the cost of quality education prohibitive,” he says.

ENDS

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