Scholarship offers young Maori students place on world stage

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A SCHOLARSHIP to help aspirational Maori high school students gain admission to prestigious universities worldwide is back for another year.

Now in its fourth year, the Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship was founded to encourage young Maori representation on the global stage.

Whether it be physiotherapy at the University of Auckland or computer science at Stanford (University, California), the scholarships encourage homegrown students to follow their passion.

Five students will receive personalised mentoring and education services up to the value of $20,000 to help them apply for and get accepted into their dream university.

Previous winners have hailed from New Plymouth, Rotorua, Tauranga and Auckland.

While there has not been a winner from the Gisborne region, it is hoped Tairawhiti students will apply for a scholarship this year.

Past winners include Anais Magner, of Aquinas College in Tauranga, who secured a scholarship to Mt Holyoke College in Massachusetts on the east coast of the US, with over $US250,000 of on-campus study costs covered.

Mount Maunganui student Samuel Taylor, who aspires to become the first Maori prime minister, was awarded the scholarship at the age of 15.

After three years of mentoring and tutoring from Crimson Education, Sam went on to secure a perfect SAT score before accepting an offer from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He will return this year as a judge and mentor for the scholarship. Another scholarship winner returning as a judge and mentor is Lily Holder-McFlinn, of Palmerston North, who is studying computer science and law at Victoria University in Wellington after securing a Spark scholarship and Victoria academic excellence scholarship.

Crimson Education chief executive and co-founder Jamie Beaton, who founded the Te ara A Kupe Beaton Scholarship programme in 2017, said they continued to guide and mentor an exceptionally high calibre of students to access priceless education opportunities.

“Crimson Education is dedicated to delivering social equity initiatives that provide students with a platform, mentoring and resources, so that they can make a lasting impact on our global community.

“The Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship is an opportunity to celebrate Maori high school students who are blazing a trail through high academic performance, brave innovation and exceptional community leadership.

“From an aspiring doctor who wishes to improve health outcomes for the Maori community to a future prime minister with a mission to create inclusive policies to elevate Maori voices, we are proud to see the dreams our recipients hold and the strides that they continue to make,” he said.

Mr Beaton said the scholarship was created to honour the adventurous spirit of Kupe, a tribal warrior who journeyed to discover New Zealand, while evoking in young Maori students a similarly bold spirit.

The judging panel for the 2021 scholarship includes former Prime Minister Sir John Key.

Applications for the scholarship close on Sunday, April 11 at 11.59pm.

Scholarship winners will be announced at an awards gala in Auckland on Sunday, May 23.