High achievers rewarded with national tertiary scholarships

ACCOMPLISHED STARS: Nicola-Mary Geraghty (left), and Vidya Vijayakumar of Taihape Area School. PHOTO/LIN FERGUSON

Two 18-year-old scholarship students at Taihape Area School, Vidya Vijayakumar and Nicola-Mary Geraghty, are described by principal Richard McMillan as superb young adults.

"They are both fantastic and we are very proud of them."

Vidya won the Edna Wadell national scholarship of $5000 out of 200 female Year 13 students in New Zealand for women who want to make a career in technology and engineering.

The scholarship is for women entering their first year of fulltime study for an undergraduate degree, who have not previously studied fulltime at that level in technology and engineering.

Originally from Malaysia, Vidya came to Taihape as a small child and with her scholarship will be heading off to Massey University in Palmerston North to study a food technology degree with honours which takes four years.

Then she hopes to continue her Masters in food technology for a further one to two years, she said.

Her two brothers are also high achievers, her older is studying medicine at an international school in Russia and her younger has gained his masters degree with honours in mathematics in the United Kingdom in just three years, she said.

Nicola-Mary has won a Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship at Otago University where she will study health science toward a degree in medicine.

Her aim is to specialise in helping minority groups in the health system, she said.

"Those people who really need help and are not sure how to get it."

Nicola-Mary has also been awarded her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award - she already has her silver and bronze medals.

Mr McMillan said Taihape Area School has been very fortunate to have such high calibre students and will be sad to lose them.

"They will both do brilliantly wherever they go."