An abundance of scholarships for Rotorua students

Brenna Douglas. Photo / Supplied

Year 13 student Brenna Douglas is leaving Rotorua Lakes on a high note.

She will head to Otago University next year to study health science with a $35,000 scholarship to ease the financial pressure. The scholarship is awarded to students who have achieved academic excellence.

Douglas is one of an impressive number of Rotorua secondary school students to receive financial scholarships for the 2019 academic year and one of two Rotorua Lakes High students to be awarded scholarships with $30,000 or more.

Emma Jackson, also from Lakes High, will head to Victoria University with a $30,000 Victoria Kahotea Scholarship, a $1000, Soroptimist Karen Trautmann Scholarship and a $500 GHA Te Amokapua Maori Scholar award.

As well as the Otago excellence scholarship, Douglas also received the Auckland University Maori Academic Excellence Award worth $20,000.

Douglas shared the school's proxime accessit title (runner up to dux) this year and said she can't quite believe her time at Rotorua Lakes has come to an end.

"It's been an awesome five years," Douglas said. "I've loved every minute of my time at Lakes High and am grateful for all of the help and support I have received."

Douglas said she applied for a lot of scholarships and was stoked to have been successful with two of the bigger ones.

"It will make a huge difference to my time at Otago."

She said while looking forward to moving to Dunedin, it was also a little scary.

Rotorua Lakes High School principal Bruce Walker said tertiary scholarships provided a huge opportunity for several students.

"We have a teacher at the school who works with students to apply for scholarships. Many provincial, public school students think it's not worth applying for available scholarships because they think Auckland private school students will have them all wrapped up.

"We encourage them to apply for everything they can."

Walker said the benefit of a scholarship was not just financial.

"There are so many other opportunities attached to many of them, like summer work or other forms of training. I also think students who receive a scholarship start at a university already known to the faculty."

He also congratulated community groups and organisations within Rotorua who came together and created scholarships.

"St David's Church in Owhata gives a $500 scholarship out each year and I applaud the church and others who do this."

Scholarship recipients

John Paul College
• Alyssa Koller-Orr, $20,000, Auckland University Academic Potential Scholarship
• Claudia Thomas, $20,000, Auckland University Top Achiever Scholarship
• Hayley Hope, $20,000, Auckland University Top Achiever Scholarship
• Aditi Singh, $20,000, Auckland University Top Achiever Scholarship
• Sophia Le Liēvre, $5000, Otago University Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship
• Mikusha Newdick, 10,000, Otago University Māori Entrance Scholarship
• Marewa Taiepa Shields, $10,000, Otago University Māori Entrance Scholarship
• Matthew Dender, $6000, Otago University Leaders of Tomorrow Entrance Scholarship
• Oliver Schweizer, $6000, Otago University Leaders of Tomorrow Entrance Scholarship
• Georgia Lovegrove, $6000, Otago University Leaders of Tomorrow Entrance Scholarship
• David Boles, $16,000, Otago University Performance Scholarship
• Carmela Espellarga, $5000, Victoria University Leavers Scholarship
• Georgia Collins, $5000, Victoria University Leavers Scholarship
• Denisa Berbece, $5000, Victoria University Tangiwai Scholarship
• Jacques Terblanche, $5000, Victoria University Tangiwai Scholarship
• Madeleine Aislabie, $6500, AUT University Academic Excellence - Significant Student Scholarship
• Simon Smith, $6000, Canterbury University Emerging Leaders' Scholarship
• Julia Florence, $6500, Canterbury University Emerging Leaders' Scholarship
• Cullen Smith, $5000, Massey University Massey Business School Future Leaders Scholarship
• Mitchell Williams, $25,000, Waikato University Te Paewai o te Rangi Scholarship
• Te Ohongaake Swanson Hall, $10,000, Waikato University Te Ara Whānui Scholarship
• Dikisha Dahya, $3000, Waikato University Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata (pending results)
• James Dender, $3000, Waikato University Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata (pending results)
• Angsu Haldar, $3000, Waikato University, Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata
• Olivia McIntyre, $5000, Waikato University, Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata (pending results)
• Lochlan Kessels, $5000, Waikato University, Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata (pending results)
• Hana Stubbing, Waikato University, Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata
• Vince Vagay, Waikato University, Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata
• Kylie Ramajo, Waikato University, Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata
• Luisa Egger, Waikato University, Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata
• Ella Campbell, Waikato University, Bay of Plenty Schools Ko te Tangata
• Jared Paalvast, $2500, Toi Ohomai Secondary School Achiever Award
• Julia Florence, $5000, Edna Waddell Undergraduate Scholarship for Women in Technology and Engineering

Rotorua Lakes High School
• Amy Moore, $1000, Victoria University (Treasury Challenge), $6000 Otago – Leaders of Tomorrow
• Anita Bentley, (2017 leaver) $16,000, Otago University
• Brenna Douglas, $20,000, Auckland Maori Academic Excellence Scholarship, $35,000, Otago Academic Excellence Scholarship
• Caitlin Dalziel, $1000, Victoria University (Treasury Challenge)
• Emma Jackson, $30,000, Victoria Kahotea Scholarship, $1000, Soroptimist Karen Trautmann Scholarship, $500, GHA Te Amokapua Maori Scholar
• Emma Jenkin, $1000, Victoria University (Treasury Challenge)
• Euan Robinson, $10,000, to UC Engineering Top Scholars' Award, $6000, Emerging Leaders' Scholarship, $5000, AMS Scholarship
• Glen George, $5000, Victoria Tangiwai Scholarship for Excellence
• Holly Forbes, $20,000, Auckland Top Achiever Scholarship, $20,000, Otago University Academic Excellence
• Joel Gisby, $500, St David's Church Scholarship for a student attending Toi Ohomai
• Kairangi Cox, $7500, (up to) 2nd year fee payment
• Kayla Sargison, $20,000, Otago University, $1000, Scholarship to Victoria University (Treasury Challenge), $1000, Scholarship to Massey University (Brave Thinkers – NZ Business Week), $5000, Victoria Tangiwai Scholarship for Excellence
• Leroy Nurkka, $10,000, from Ngati Whakaue Education Endowment Trust Board – Supreme Art Award
• Maria Trass, $5000, Victoria, Tangiwai Scholarship for Excellence
• Nathan Morsehead, $2500, Toi Ohomai Scholarship
• Ngahuia Macfarlane $3000, Waikato, Ko Te Tangata Scholarship
• Shelby Cuff $3000, Waikato, Ko Te Tangata Scholarship
• Tangaroa Yorke, $2500 Toi Ohomai Scholarship

Western Heights High School (The school could not provide monetary amounts)
• Juyong Shin, University of Auckland Top Achiever
• Warna Karunanayake, University of Auckland Top Achiever
• Sion Kang, University of Auckland Academic Potential Scholarship
• Lucy McGovern, Massey University Vice-Chancellor's High Achiever Scholarship
• Jason Lee, University of Otago Academic Excellence Entrance Scholarship, University of Otago Dux Scholarship 2019, Karen Trautmann Memorial Scholarship-2018 runner-up
• Noah Edwards (2017 graduate) University of Otago New Frontiers Entrance Scholarship
• Te Arawhetu Waipoua-Bryers, University of Otago Poutama Scholarship
• Cameron Astwood, Waikato University for Outstanding Academic Achievement
• Tyla Davis Leo, Waikato University Pacific Excellence Scholarship
• Sophie Glasgow, Waikato University Bryan Smith Memorial Scholarship, Waikato University Ko Te Tangata Entrance Scholarship
• Sian Pearson, Waikato University Ko Te Tangata Entrance Scholarship, Waikato University Bryan Smith Memorial Scholarship
• Angel Wilson, Waikato University Ko Te Tangata Entrance Scholarship
• Bryan Allerby, Waikato University Ko Te Tangata Entrance Scholarship, Waikato University Manaaki Tangata Scholarship
• Sophie Dunkley, AUT School Leaver Scholarship for Academic Excellence
• Alex Pitkethley, AUT School Leaver Scholarship for Academic Excellence
• Haruka Shigeuchi, AUT School Leaver Scholarship for Academic Excellence
• Kira Lees, Victoria University Tangiwai Scholarship
• Kiani Walker, Victoria University Tangiwai Scholarship
• Phyl Hawkins, Mitchell Anderson and Alice Croucher, Lions Ngongotaha Scholarship

Rotorua Girls' High School
• Georgia Brouwer, University of Otago Law or the Navy OCE, on campus experience, flights to Otago, accommodation, food, programme, light entertainment
• Te Ao Leach, $20,000, Crimson NZ Scholarship Tutoring Grant, $20,000 Auckland University Bachelor of Business Management Top Achiever
• Ana Nagera, $10,000, University of Otago Health Science Pacific Peoples' Entrance Scholarship
• Isobella Cook, $20,000, University of Auckland Top Achiever, University of Otago Future Leaders of Tomorrow $8000
• Te Ririu Williams, $10,000, Waikato University Te Ara Whanui Scholarship

*Rotorua Boys' High School (did not provide any information) *Canterbury had not announced its scholarships when this story was written