Schoolgirl gets $15k scholarship

‘‘I myself am liberal. I definitely would use my degree to give people more freedom and the ability to express themselves.’’

Looking for a challenge brought Rotorua girl Rita Shasha to ta¯huhu in South Auckland.

Now, the King’s College head girl has won the $15,000 Russell McVeagh School Leavers’ Scholarship which will help catapult her into the field of law and medical ethics.

She plans on attending Victoria University of Wellington.

The year 13 student and aspiring lawyer says she decided on Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) instead of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) because it suited her learning style more.

‘‘I came here from John Paul College in Rotorua. My old school didn’t suit me very much,’’ she says.

‘‘I switched from NCEA to Cambridge because I wanted to try something new and the self-directed learning suits me well.’’

When she’s not busy with philosophy, biology, genetics and the law, she is most likely upskilling in speech and drama, and football.

She was also a recipient of the Mike Cormack Prize, an annual award for young people who have made an outstanding contribution in the areas of integrity, leadership, sportsmanship and commitment.

Rita’s parents, both doctors, came to New Zealand from Iraq in 1996.

She speaks English, Arabic and Armenian.

Her knowledge of Arabic helped during her community service project at the Mangere Refugee Centre, which she describes as a ‘‘rewarding’’ experience.

‘‘It would be awesome if I could use my degree to help people. It’s particularly why I want to get into medical ethics,’’ she says.

‘‘I myself am liberal. I would definitely use my degree to give people more freedom and the ability to express themselves.

‘‘If I could fight for one cause right now, it would be euthanasia or abortion ... just pro-choice.

‘‘I’m just somebody who believes in having the choice to make your own decisions about your own life.’’

King’s careers director Wendy Carey says Rita should be ‘‘very proud of herself for receiving the scholarship, one of only 10 available each year for school leavers’’.

Winners of the scholarship get financial assistance, a work experience day at the Russell McVeagh office, a mentor throughout their time at law school, and a summer clerkship.