Lifetime of helping others earns student a helping hand
Growing up in Fiji, University of Canterbury law student Ashlin Chandra learnt the value of community, a passion she now is looking to use in a law career.
Born and raised in Suva, she came to New Zealand with her older sister and mother aged around 7.
‘‘Coming from a Third World country I know the struggles that youths face, which is where my inspiration comes from in helping out charities and being involved in community programmes,’’ she says.
‘‘When I came to New Zealand I found that children here were also going through the same struggles. I made it a mission for myself to help as many youths out as I could.’’
The former Linwood College (now Te Aratai College) student looked to charities that helped young people with their mental health, education, and escaping poverty, helping raise $20,000.
Chandra was part of the Generation Give programme; youth philanthropy that helps young leaders give back to their communities, while being a role model for other youngsters.
And now her dedication has been rewarded, with a scholarship from the Milford Foundation to help with her tertiary studies. The foundation awarded 15 scholarships to students as part of its inaugural offering.
Recipients were chosen for their potential to succeed in their studies, their participation in local communities and ability to overcome obstacles and hardship. They came from Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago, and started university this week. Each receives a flexible support package up to a value of $10,000 per year, for the duration of their undergraduate qualification.
‘‘Now I want to do commercial law because I get to work in a wider range of jobs which in turn means that I get to help a wider range of people,’’ she says.
‘‘My dream is to help people find justice. Law has such a unique nature of helping people.
‘‘I am also very interested in immigration and family law, but we will see as I learn more about the different types of laws. The Milford scholarship means more than receiving $10,000 yearly, it is about building those connections with people, having support from amazing people from the foundation.
‘‘It means I do not have to rely on my parents as they already support my older sister financially and pay for physiotherapy.’’ Physiotherapy?
She has had two knee surgeries, for which her mother had to pay for physiotherapy and medications after she damaged ligaments.
‘‘The first injury was due to sport and the second was from a bouncy castle – yes, bouncy castles can be dangerous,’’ she says.