Scholarships awarded to students
Scholarships promote Ma¯ ori education
Ten Waikato tauira (students) studying a range of academic fields have won Waikato Regional Council and Waikato-tainui — Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu Scholarships for 2023.
The scholarships provide between $2300 and $4400 to support Ma¯ori students pursuing fulltime undergraduate programmes at the University of Waikato, particularly in resource management or environmental fields.
This year’s winners are Tina Hilletaylor, Keana Hepi, Tui Barrett, Tiffany Walker, Mekayla Peneha, Aaron Barnsdall, Ella Cooper-levin, Kimihia Solomon-banks, Atawhai Mcdonnell and Jasmine (Ngahuia) Young.
Te Arikinui, Dame Te Atairangikaahu served as Ma¯ori queen for more than 40 years, and the scholarship was established in her name in 1991 to mark the 25th anniversary of her accession, pay tribute to her leadership of Ma¯ori and promote further education for Ma¯ori in the Waikato region.
Glenda Taituha, general manager of heritage and identity at Waikatotainui, says the scholarship programme continues to fulfil its purpose and builds on an educational legacy that is 32 years old and still going strong: “We are extremely proud to see these next 10 tauira take up the wero, to develop their knowledge and skills so that they can take them back and empower their wha¯nau, hapu¯ and iwi.”
Bruce Clarkson, the council’s deputy chairman and a professor of ecology at the university, says he’s particularly pleased to see the scholarships build capacity in environmental
areas: “I am deeply involved with researching and restoring indigenous ecology, so I am very happy when I see students like Tiffany and Aaron heading down this
career path.” He says it would be good to see more scholarship applicants from these fields in 2024 and beyond.
Applicants must be enrolled in fulltime undergraduate study at the
University of Waikato, be of Ma¯ori descent, and be from a family that resides in the Waikato Regional Council boundary. Applications close every year on June 30.