Porirua teen off to Harvard
It started with an Instagram post and has ended with an acceptance letter to one of the world’s most prestigious universities.
Seventeen-year-old Jess Jenkins (Nga¯ti Kahungunu ki Ta¯maki nui-a-Rua), who has just finished her final year at Tawa College, has been accepted to Harvard University under early admission, one of 747 students from more than 10,000 applications.
Jenkins, from Tı¯tahi Bay in Porirua, said it was not until she saw an Instagram advertisement that she considered applying to the American university, 10 days before applications closed. Two months later she was sitting at the kitchen bench, baking and looking after her 5-year-old brother, Matthew, when she logged onto the admission’s portal.
‘‘I logged on about five past one, and saw ‘view status update,’ so I clicked view, and it said ‘congratulations, welcome to Harvard’.
‘‘I was a bit excited, I ran across to my brother and was like ‘Matthew!’ and he didn’t understand – he’s five.’’
Four days later the news was still sinking in, but she felt it probably wouldn’t become real until she heard what financial aid she would receive from Harvard.
‘‘I’m really hopeful I’ll be able to get a full scholarship, because I actually can’t go without it.’’
Undergraduate tuition and living costs totalled about NZ$102,000 in the current academic year, but the university operates a financial aid scheme based on need. Families with students on scholarship pay an average of $20,000 annually towards the cost of a Harvard education, but some pay none at all.
She is unsure exactly what she will study once she gets to Cambridge, Massachusetts, although she said it would be down an arts, humanities or business path.
While she will likely head over to the US in the middle of next year, she also has the option to defer study by a year.
Her wha¯nau had given her the confidence to apply, and she was also lucky to have gone to Tawa College, where the teaching staff had supported her, she said.
‘‘That’s something really special about being Ma¯ori and being part of the Ma¯ori community is that whanaungatanga and kotahitanga, we are all one people, I think from New Zealand that is a really cool atmosphere and environment that I’ll want to be taking with me.’’
She applied using her NCEA results, as the university did not require standardised tests the SAT. Her marks included completing level 2 with all excellence credits. She is now waiting for her level 3 results.
Her CV included academic, music and sporting achievements, all completed while helping to babysit her five younger siblings.
This year she won the Race Unity Speech Awards, speaking about her own identity as someone of both Ma¯ori and Pa¯keha¯ descent. She also took home the Baha’i Community Award for Insight.
‘‘I’m also a violinist. I’m a first violinist in the National Youth Orchestra this year, lucky enough to be learning with one of the best tutors in the country, Donald Armstrong.’’
She learnt to play the viola this year, so she could play in the NZCT Chamber Music Contest, where her group was a semifinalist.
Her musical talent has come in handy. From the time she picked up a violin she started busking, which helped pay for her music and sporting endeavours.
‘‘I played football ... a couple of years back I was in the National Development squad for that, and I have also been a North Island medallist in the high jump, and done national comps for athletics.’’