A helping hand sets this student on a good course

"I was the kind of kid who was in trouble a lot. Near the end of [school] I realised I wanted to do something with my life." Vincent Carroll

He’s the first in his family to go to university, and he’s looking to head back there to start a PHD.

Vincent Carroll was the first recipient of Victoria University’s Foundation Trustees’ Scholarship in 2013, offered to a student who is the first in their family go to to university, as far back as greatgrandparents.

Four years later, the 22-year-old has a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in ecology and statistics, and is two weeks away from finishing his masters in applied statistics.

He is planning to take a couple of years off to work, before returning to university to start a PHD.

Carroll has also inspired his younger brother to follow in his footsteps and start a bachelor of commerce at Victoria University this year, winning a separate scholarship.

Neither of Carroll’s parents finished high school, and he and his brother were raised by his mum. His father spent most of Carroll’s childhood in prison.

He said he definitely would have gone on to tertiary study, but getting the scholarship made things easier both financially, as did the support and mentoring the scholarship included.

His getting to university was a ‘‘really big deal’’ for his mum.

‘‘She brought me and my brother up, and told us ‘you can do whatever you want to do with your life, as long as you’re happy and as long as you’re doing something you love’.’’

But university was not always the obvious path when he was at Tararua College in Pahiatua.

‘‘I was the kind of kid who was in trouble a lot. Near the end of [school] I realised I wanted to do something with my life, I wanted to do something I enjoy every day ... I realised education was the way.’’

Four years later he is hoping to secure a job, and is interested in public health, where he hopes to put his statistics skills to use in epidemiology – the analysis of illnesses and how they spread.

Carroll said he was incredibly grateful for what he’d been given through the university, and said it was important school students knew about the sort of scholarships that were out there.

‘‘It’s not like I’m the only one out there who comes from a family of people who have not been to university. It’s important kids believe in themselves, if they want it, they should apply for those scholarships.’’

The scholarship was put in place to allow talented students who came from disadvantaged backgrounds to further themselves at the university, executive director, Development Office and the Foundation Janet Coulson said.