A shot at the stars pays off

Sixteen-year-old Christina Brook is a good example of how hard work and perseverance can pay off, big time. The Kaitaia teenager is one of two New Zealanders who have won two-year all expenses paid scholarships to attend a United World College (UWC) in Vancouver, Canada.

 

Born in Auckland, Christina moved north two years ago and enrolled at Kaitaia Abundant Life School. It was there she crossed paths with former dean Zorina Wigglesworth, who gave her the scholarship application form.

"She thought I could do it," she said.

"She told me out of all the kids she'd ever met, I was the one this scholarship was made for.

"The scholarship opened my eyes, especially when somebody said 'You can do this.' It gave me the motivation and the confidence I needed."

Success didn't come easily though. Christina admits that she was a "really bad teenager" who had had problems at home, resulting in her being placed under the guardianship of best friend Priscilla's mother Jennifer Hutchinson. She buckled down, though, achieving the 60 NCEA Level 2 credits she needed for the scholarship, usually a year's work, in three months."

"Christina has a maturity that most 16-year-olds do not have," Jennifer said, but there was still a rigorous application process to navigate.

Ten finalists from three regions were whittled down to six before the two successful candidates were named.

The process involved hours of interviews with panels of up to six people grilling the applicants, as well as volunteer days and the writing of an essay explaining what the applicant would bring to the college.

In her essay, Christina outlined her difficult upbringing and wrote of how far she had come and of how determined she was to succeed.

When she found she had been selected she was "over the moon," but didn't want to broadcast it too much in case she was seen as a "try-hard," but she soon got over that. And her friends and family were just as excited.

"She has succeeded and is shooting for the stars," Jennifer said.

"They could see how far she has come in her life."

Christina said the college offered more than schooling.

"You learn about the world and coming together as one. It's a really vigorous academic course too. Universities such as Harvard go head-hunting there for students." Which is handy, given her "ultimate dream" of studying corporate law at Harvard.

She leaves for Vancouver late this month, and will stay in dorm room-style accommodation with four other students.

"They try to put as many different nationalities as they can in the same room,"' she added. The scholarship covers a flight home at the end of each school year (in May), Christina having accepted that she will miss a couple of summers. She was looking forward to being independent and meeting new people, and was excited about the travel, having been no further than Australia so far, "which doesn't really count," but would miss time to herself, Jennifer's cooking, her family and especially her best friend Priscilla.

"People tell me I'm lucky and I say luck's got nothing to do with it," she added.

"Anybody can do it. You've just got to put the effort in. Life's what you make it."

STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

United World Colleges (UWC) are collectively described as the only global educational NGO that brings students together from around the world, selected on merit within their own countries, regardless of race, religion, politics or the ability to pay. Thirteen UWC schools and colleges operate in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The scholarship programme is designed to ensure diversity through selection on potential and merit.