One recipient of a scholarship is the first in her family to gain School Certificate, reports STACEY BODGER.
Teachers at McAuley High School in Otahuhu inspired Penny Vaotu'ua to become the first in her family to gain School Certificate.
Penny, aged 17, now dreams of studying computer engineering at Auckland University to
continue making her parents proud.
She has been awarded one of eight First Foundation Project scholarships, which will subsidise her university fees - provided she works for the money.
First Foundation, a non-profit organisation, was established in 1998 to help outstanding students from financially disadvantaged families to access tertiary education.
The winners of this year's scholarships will work part-time for a "partnering company" during their seventh form year and tertiary study.
Foundation founder Steven Carden said the scholarships offered students a hand up, rather than a handout, because they must earn at least $1200 towards their education.
It is a commitment Penny is eager to make because her parents, with seven children to support, cannot afford to pay her fees.
She has teamed with Pacific Retail Group, the country's largest appliance retailer, and is excited about finding a niche within the firm.
"In the fifth form, my teachers inspired me to go for it and now I've decided I want to be different - I don't want to work in a factory," she said.
Penny achieved one of the highest scores at McAuley for her six School Certificate subjects and is hoping for top marks from her sixth-form year.
"I worked hard for School Certificate and I want to keep making my parents proud ... because gaining good grades is an achievement seldom seen in my family."
Pacific Retail head Stefan Preston said its involvement with First Foundation was an investment in developing future leaders for the company.
"We find it tremendously challenging to find committed young people willing to grow with an organisation," he said. "This is a very nice way of contributing to someone's future and also provide us with a dedicated employee."
The other scholarship winners to be teamed with partnering companies are Tafu Tuilaepa of Takanini, Roseanne Leaupepe and Julie McCormick of Mangere, Zac Emery of St Heliers, Ghassan John of Otahuhu, Ming-En Wu of Manukau and Kirsten Chan of Blockhouse Bay.
The foundation is seeking firms outside Auckland to join the scheme.
