UCOL Te Pūkenga learners have received over $44,000 in
scholarships to help them with costs associated with
study.
The scholarships, funded by UCOL Te Pūkenga
and local donors, were presented at a ceremony held last
week.
65 scholarships were awarded, including 49 Women
in Trades Grants. The Women in Trades Grant was established
last year to encourage and enable more women to enter into
the trades sector. Many recipients spoke about how the grant
enabled them to purchase new tools, which have helped them
hone and advance their skills.
For Nursing akōnga
(learner) Megan Love, receiving the Soroptimist
International Scholarship validated the hard work she had
put into her studies after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed her
into a career change.
“I was very surprised to
receive the scholarship. It’s a good feeling and makes all
of the study worth it. It was nice to receive the
recognition and I’m grateful to receive the funds. I live
in Levin, so the money will help me with travelling to
Palmerston North for class and my upcoming placement, as
well as the cost of text books,” says Love.
Love
previously worked as a corporate travel agent for seven
years. She was working in London at the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic, but its impact on the travel industry led
to her losing her job and returning to New Zealand quickly
before the border closed.
When Love returned to New
Zealand, she worked as a call centre advisor on the COVID
Healthline, which sparked her interest in a career in
healthcare.
“Working on the Healthline introduced me
to the healthcare sector and began my growing desire to work
in a role where I could combine my interest with human
anatomy and be able to help people. I spoke to some of the
nurses who I worked with, and they encouraged me to look
into it further.”
Love is now excelling in the
Bachelor of Nursing programme, consistently achieving A
grades.
Ben Barr, Danielle Smith, and Talitha
Mao-Adams were named the inaugural ManawaTech ICT
Scholarship recipients. This new scholarship was awarded in
partnership with the Manawatū Tech Collective (ManawaTech)
– an industry-led non-profit organisation supporting the
region’s thriving technology hub. As well as financial
support, recipients have access to networking and internship
opportunities within the local technology
industry.
Originally, only one ManawaTech ICT
Scholarship was to be awarded, but the calibre of applicants
was so high that UCOL Te Pūkenga and ManawaTech decided to
fund two more.
Recipient Ben Barr says it feels
amazing to receive the scholarship.
“I work
full-time as well as study, and it has been quite a hard
lifestyle balance. Receiving this scholarship means I
won’t have to work so much and focus more on my
study.”
“The networking side of it has been
unreal. I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of people
in the industry which will be really beneficial to my
career.”
UCOL Te Pūkenga Executive Director
Business & Industry Partnerships Jasmine Groves says she
is grateful for the continued support of scholarship
donors.
“These scholarships make a big difference in
the lives of our ākonga. For some, it enables them to buy
new equipment for their studies. For others, it helps
relieve some of the financial stress they and their families
face. Overall, it makes achieving their academic goals
easier.”
“We had an excellent group of scholarship
recipients this year and we look forward to seeing what they
achieve in their chosen
industries.”
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