Te Waiu scholarship gives $5k boost
Southlander Breigh Lawson-Stanley (Ngāi Tahu) has received a 2024 Te Waiu o Aotearoa Trust scholarship alongside three other Māori students.
Lawson-Stanley, who is studying for a master of laws degree at the University of Canterbury, said she was “surprised and excited” to learn she had been awarded the scholarship.
It comes with a grant of $5000 to help with her study costs.
Lawson-Stanley attended Southland Girls’ High School and James Hargest College and had decided in year 7 that she wanted to be a judge.
A school trip to the Invercargill District Court was the deciding factor.
“At high school, we went on a class trip to the courts and I just thought all of this was amazing. That was when I was first exposed to the legal world and I just stuck with it.”
She liked that law was an “extremely broad” field that offered different opportunities and was constantly evolving.
“It’s anything but boring and it can take you anywhere. It’s really exciting. I have an interest in biosecurity law.”
She had previously interned with Ngāi Tahu’s Whai Rawa savings scheme for a year.
Once her studies were complete, she intended to head to Wellington to work as a corporate lawyer.
To those wanting to apply for next year’s scholarship, Lawson-Stanley said they should back themselves and give it a go.
Te Waiu o Aotearoa Trust was established in 1994 and is administered by Westpac New Zealand. It awards scholarships to tertiary students with the aim of promoting the advancement of Māori in the general business, banking and finance industries.