Scholarship winners announced

Alicia Gleeson.

Three outstanding year 13 high school students are the recipients of Mike Pero Mortgages’ Foundation tertiary education scholarships for 2009.

“We are delighted to announce the three winners who will receive scholarships, one of $5,000 and two of $2,500, which we are sure will give them a financial head start to their university education,” says Shaun Riley, CEO of Mike Pero Mortgages.

Alicia Gleeson, who is in her final year of study at Opotiki College in the Bay of Plenty, was named the overall winner and has been awarded the $5,000 tertiary scholarship. She will put this towards a Bachelor of Commerce at Otago University next year, where she intends to do a double major in Accounting and International Business Management.

Alicia says she received the news of her scholarship success just before her birthday.

“It was the best birthday present ever. I was caught completely off-guard when I got the news and I was buzzing for days afterwards. It means so much to me to win this scholarship as all the hard work I’ve put in to my education so far has finally paid off.

“It’s even more special because I will be the first person in my family to go to university and just as importantly, it will take the financial pressure off my family.”

Kiri Diack from Aurora College in Invercargill was awarded a $2,500 scholarship, which she will put towards a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at Otago University.

Kiri says she was surprised to hear she had been awarded a scholarship, especially as it was a national scholarship with a number of very deserving applicants.

“I was absolutely stoked. It was a real sense of achievement for me as I was the only student in the South Island to receive a national scholarship. It’s certainly put Invercargill on the map! My mum and dad were so proud of me, they even made me ring my brother and sister in Australia to pass on the good news.”

Beaumyn Wihongi from Northland College in Kaikohe also received a $2,500 scholarship.

He will put this towards a Bachelor of Maori and Pacific Development, majoring in Te Reo Maori, at Waikato University.

Beaumyn says without this scholarship he would’ve struggled to be able to attend university.

“I was very shocked to hear I’d been awarded a scholarship. Financially, I would have found it very difficult to go to university but this scholarship means I can now follow my dream. I really want to be a secondary school teacher and now I can really concentrate on this.”

Mr Riley says the selection panel had a very difficult task to select three final candidates from over 650 applications. He says the standard of applications was very impressive.

“The three recipients, Alicia, Kiri and Beaumyn, 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 NZ students, aged between 17 and 25, embarking on their first year of tertiary study.

Mr Riley says the programme has proven to be very successful since it was introduced three years ago.