The Rotary Club of Taradale recently presented awards of excellence to EIT degree students Anita Santos and Jemma Russell.
Both women received $1000 towards their EIT fees.
Living with a Taradale family, Santos moved from Sao Paulo in Brazil to study ideaschool's Bachelor of Creative Practice and is now in her second year at EIT. From Napier, Jemma is a third-year Bachelor of Social Work student.
Santos was seeking a different learning style, one that was more hands-on than visual arts and design study programmes offered in Brazil. She chose EIT because it aligned with her needs, and she also "really liked" its facilities.
Her lecturers, who described her as a high-achieving creative artist, said that while Portuguese is her mother tongue, her very good grasp of English allows her to converse critically with them and classmates.