Best and brightest from a top field

THE TOP FIVE: From left, Liam Melville, Rita Twigley, Samantha Wood, Beth Kennedy, and Lewis Green are the 2015 recipients of the Walter McLean Scholarship. Each year the scholarship goes to five students, put forward by their school and chosen by a panel of judges. It entitles each winer to $3,500 for up to three years of tertiary study. Picture by Liam Clayton

WITH the end of school near, scholarship season has begun and very few are as sought after as the Walter McLean Scholarship.

The scholarship, administered by the Public Trust, takes on five new applicants each year, providing them with $3500 annually for up to three years.

Joining the roster for 2016 will be Gisborne Girls’ High School students Beth Kennedy and Rita Twigley, Gisborne Boys’ High School students Liam Melville and Lewis Green, and Campion College student Samantha Wood.

Public Trust rural manager Rod Hutton said all applicants exceeded expectations.

“Although it was difficult, I think we have chosen the best five. We are proud to be involved in benefiting the education of young people in the district.”

The scholarships are funded from the estate of Walter William McLean, whose main asset is Gowerville Station.

Lytton High School, Boys and Girls high schools, Campion and Tolaga Bay Area School each nominate three students for the scholarship, and a judging panel selects the top five.

Beth Kennedy spoke on behalf of the group, and said being awarded the scholarship was very motivating.

“It is also massively encouraging and a nice reward for all our hard work,” she said.

The students are free to choose how to spend the money. The only catch is they keep their grades up and pass.

“Receiving this scholarship is very humbling and we are all grateful for the opportunity,” Beth said.

Beth is off to study health science next year with the goal of being a paediatrician. Rita Twigley will study science, focusing on biogenetics, and Samantha Wood will begin her studies in law and politics. Liam Melville will study health science, with the goal of becoming a general practitioner, and Lewis Green is off to study biomedicine.