Scholarship means Bay teenagers can focus ‘so much more’ on university

Former Te Puke High School students Ashton Zaal and Piper Moore have both been awarded a Milford Foundation scholarship. Also pictured is Ashton's mum Priscilla Clarke (left) and Piper's mum Holly Moore. Photo / Emma Houpt

Three Bay of Plenty teenagers have received a “genuinely life-changing” scholarship providing them with up to $10,000 a year to cover university costs.

Ashton Zaal, Piper Moore and Jessi Rose Gould are three of 15 students from across the country who have been awarded the Milford Foundation Scholarship.

In its first year, each candidate will receive up to $10,000 yearly for the duration of their undergraduate degree.

In a statement, the Milford Foundation says the scholarship aims to “reduce inequality in access to tertiary education” through providing financial support to school leavers where cost is a barrier.

Zaal, 18, said this “took a lot of pressure” off him having to save about $18,000 to cover his hall of residence fees.

The former Te Puke High School student is attending the University of Otago, studying for a Bachelor of Health Science.

It was his goal to become a doctor.

“It should take a lot of debt off by the end of it, which will be great.”

Zaal, the second-eldest of six brothers, was also stoked to have received his first-ever computer through the scholarship.

Last year, he had been working roughly 25 hours a week at McDonald’s outside of school time, saying it was hard to juggle study, leadership roles, his job and sporting commitments.

His subjects included physics, calculus, biology and chemistry.

“I would work until about 12 at night and then do a Saturday shift. It’s really hard knowing you have to go hard at school and then go to work.

“But I got through it.”

Ashton’s mum Priscilla Clarke said she was “amazed” at her son’s success and hugely grateful for the scholarship.

“I am very, very proud of him for doing everything himself, setting his goals and getting there.”

Moore, who graduated from Te Puke High School last year, was also awarded the scholarship.

The 18-year-old was left speechless when she found out, saying she had dreamed of attending Wellignton’s Victoria University since childhood.

She had always been certain she would attend until she found out how much university accommodation cost.

“I wouldn’t be able to afford accommodation otherwise - that’s the biggest thing it covered.”

Moore, who passed NCEA Level 2 with an excellence endorsement, was working toward a Bachelor of Arts majoring in psychology.

She had worked at a local petrol station throughout Year 13, managing to save “about $150-200 every week for university”, and picked up another job this summer cleaning.

Her mum Holly burst into tears when she found out the news, saying it had “really changed her direction in life”.

She praised her daughter’s work ethic, saying she “grew up knowing she had to put in the effort to get things done”.

Before receiving the scholarship, the teenager had decided to work full-time for the whole of 2023 to save up, she said.

Te Puke High School principal Alan Liddle said both students put in the hard work at school and were “well-deserving recipients” of the scholarships.

“I was over the moon when I heard.”

Jessi Rose Gould graduated from Mount Maunganui College last year.

Meanwhile, former Mount Maunganui College student Gould said the scholarship would enable her to “focus so much more” on her studies.

Scholarship money would go toward “tools of the trade”, including books, a laptop and petrol to travel to classes at the Hamilton campus.

Gould, of Ngāti Kuia descent, was studying a Bachelor of Science majoring in aquaculture at the University of Waikato in Tauranga.

“I know for me and friends of mine who have gained scholarships, it literally changes how our education is going to be. Instead of having to work and coming out with a massive loan, we will come out of the end of this with less debt.”

“Scholarships like this are really important for people that might not get the opportunity otherwise.”

She had been working part-time at a retirement village since the age of 15 to help save for university.

School principal Alastair Sinton described the support as “genuinely life-changing”.

He said Jessi had been a “great servant of Mount Maunganui College” through contributions to sports, arts, kapa haka and other leadership roles. She also spent “countless hours” volunteering for charities, he said.

“She did all this, balancing a demanding academic programme and facing challenges most young people do not have to face - a very deserving recipient.”