Back row: Kizzy Rennie, Philippa Cherrill, Yuseul Kim, Bronwyn Hutchison, Ashleigh Barnett.
Front row: Courtney Davies, Hannah Wykes, Professor Tracy Riley, Dr Jo Innes, Jessica Dalton.
Back row: Kizzy Rennie, Philippa Cherrill, Yuseul Kim, Bronwyn Hutchison, Ashleigh Barnett.
Front row: Courtney Davies, Hannah Wykes, Professor Tracy Riley, Dr Jo Innes, Jessica Dalton.
Ten postgraduate Massey University students have been awarded scholarships totalling $68,000 by the Graduate Women Manawatū Charitable Trust for research topics as diverse as age welfare, regenerative tourism, antibiotic resistance and oyster catcher habitats.
The annual Graduate Women Postgraduate Scholarships acknowledge academic excellence. The 2021 awardees are Ashleigh Barnett, CharlotteBridger, Philippa Cherrill, Jessica Dalton, Courtney Davies, Helen Glenny, Bronwyn Hutchinson, Yeseul Kim, Lauren Turner and Hannah Wykes.
Recipients are studying towards honours or master's degrees in their chosen disciplines at one of Massey University's campuses or via distance.
Funding for the scholarships is derived from the hire of academic regalia. Graduate Women Manawatū Charitable Trust owns and operates the Academic Dress Hire business based on Massey's Manawatū campus.
This business supplies academic gowns and gowning services for all graduation ceremonies at the university, and other tertiary institutions throughout the lower North Island. All profit from the business is reinvested in education through the provision of scholarships and awards for women throughout New Zealand.
Other research topics being undertaken by scholarship recipients include the experiences of first-time pregnant women in the workplace; New Zealand mayfly distribution as a model for predicting climate change impact; and the prevention of milk fever in cows.
The award ceremony provided an opportunity to celebrate the Beyond the Thesis awardee Kizzy Rennie. Sponsored by Graduate Women Manawatū, the award is offered to an international Massey student in recognition of community impact. It is a chance to recognise and celebrate the ways international students contribute to the wider New Zealand community during their study at Massey.
Rennie is an international student from the Caribbean completing her master's degree this year in food technology.
"She was selected as the winner for her compelling narrative of the small acts of kindness that went a long way," Associate Professor Sita Venkateswar says.
As secretary for the International Post Grad and Mature Students Club last year, Rennie took on the challenge of baking sweet treats for people around her, investing in the tools and equipment, as well as supporting friends who had lost family members during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Charlotte Bridger, Helen Glenny and Lauren Turner were not able to attend the ceremony.
