Seven Te Wānanga o Aotearoa tauira (students) have been awarded scholarships to assist with their studies and to create benefits for themselves, their whānau, hapū and iwi.

The $3000 scholarships are awarded by the Aotearoa Scholarship Trust, which has been supporting tauira since 2012 to help them achieve their higher educational goals, with a particular focus on Māori and Pasifika educational excellence.

Scholarships are awarded to tauira who have demonstrated a commitment to educational success and a desire to want to give back to their communities, whānau, hapū and iwi.

This year’s recipients include a mother of 14 completing an arts degree in Hastings, a young wahine Māori learning whakairo in Kirikiriroa, a masters tauira who wants to teach rangatahi how to gather kaimoana in accordance with tikanga Māori and a busy Dunedin medical student who still finds the time to learn te reo Māori.

AST Trust chair Hone Paul says the kaupapa of giving back is strongly evident not only in this year’s recipients but also in the contribution of those we honour with the naming of these scholarships.

“The tireless efforts of Buck Nin, Rewi Panapa, Tāne Taylor, Diggeress Te Kanawa and Mike Watson continue to leave an inspiring example for tauira and whānau today,” he says.

“Along with many others, these people made significant contributions to the development of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.”

This year’s recipients represented some of the best Māori and Pasifika students studying in areas such as te reo Māori, arts, social services and education and the AST board had been impressed by the quality of applications.

“Having so many impressive and worthy applicants makes it a much harder task for the board to decide on the successful recipients. Many of those receiving scholarships have shown a commitment to educational success and a desire to give back to their communities and whānau. Congratulations to them all and we look forward to supporting their continued educational journey.”

AST Scholarship recipients for 2020:

• He Waka Hiringa Scholarship - Deane Gage (Taupiri)
• Te Hiringa Teaching Scholarship – Taylor Kahu (Rotorua)
• Tāne Taylor Memorial Scholarship – Isaac Smiler (Dunedin) 
• Dr Diggeress Te Kanawa Memorial Scholarship – Marie Clark (Rotorua)
• Mike Watson Memorial Scholarship – Deija Manuel (Hamilton)
• Rewi Panapa Memorial Scholarship – Ruby Bishara (Tauranga)
• Dr Buck Nin Memorial Scholarship – Evangaline Archer (Hastings)

The first of our AST Scholarship recipient profiles is available here: https://www.twoa.ac.nz/hononga-stay-connected/news-events/2020/09/16/lifes-better-in-te-ao-maori