International award for graduate
Sarah-Michelle Washer is a young woman who believes in living up to her potential.
The 24-year-old former Ngaruawahia High student was recently chosen to receive an international award from women's service and advocacy organisation, Zonta International.
She was presented with the award at a Zonta International meeting in Hamilton by the New Zealand governor Janet Hope.
Sarah-Michelle, who now works in Auckland, was a student at Waikato University when she applied for the JaneMKlausman Women in Business Award.
The award, first presented by Zonta International in 1998, is for women pursuing degrees in business leading to a business management career.
In addition to the Zonta International award of $US7000 she also received generous financial awards from both Zonta Hamilton-Waikato and Zonta NZ.
Sarah-Michelle's list of achievements is remarkable.
She was dux at Ngaruawahia High School in 2010 and has received a number of prizes and scholarships.
She co-founded the IT.U Learning Charitable Trust in 2015, which seeks to aid the transition from high school to further study or employment through school-business partnerships. This is something she says was difficult for many of her peers in Ngaruawahia and she is only one of a handful of her peers who have gone on to study at university
Sarah-Michelle has studied in Denmark, China and South Korea, using her time on these exchanges to conduct businessrelated research.
Sarah graduated from Waikato University with a Bachelor of Management Studies with Honours and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours in December 2016, majoring in Strategic Management and Law.
She says her long-term goal is to start her own company within the education sector to support youth engagement.