Local students given financial boost

Five students from three Thames Valley schools will be getting a financial boost to further their studies this year.
Jan Honza Andrews from Waihī College, Isabella Fox and Nicole Reid from Thames High School, and Alesha-Ann De Penning and Lara Forsyth from Hauraki Plains College are all recipients of the David Johnstone award.
The award comes in the form of a $6,000 scholarship to start their tertiary career in 2023, and comes from a trust honoring a pioneering Waikato farmer.
This year, an unprecedented 31 scholarships were given to school leavers from 17 schools across the district, and at the annual awards ceremony, held on December 8 at the University of Waikato, lecturer in health, engineering, computing and science Dr Chanelle Gavin said receiving a scholarship had allowed her to find a career she loved.
“I received a David Johnstone Charitable Trust scholarship in 2010 when I started my engineering studies at Waikato. Personally, I found it enabled me to focus more on my tertiary studies as I was less concerned about financial pressure,” she said.
“Additionally, this scholarship enabled me to take up other opportunities that arose during my studies. This included a work placement in a different part of New Zealand where I otherwise may not have been able to afford accommodation.
“This scholarship ultimately placed me in an academic career that I love; the support was invaluable in helping me pursue my chosen field of study, for which I am incredibly grateful.”
The late David Johnstone was a pioneering Waikato farmer and philanthropist who sought to support the efforts of science, engineering, teaching, and tech students long after his lifetime, and in the 29 years of annual scholarship awards in his name, students have received a total of around $3.7 million.
The David Johnstone Charitable Trust, administered by Perpetual Guardian, began its operations in 1991, the year after Mr Johnstone’s death.
The first of the annual scholarships were awarded in 1993.
This year, a total of $186,000 was distributed to 31 recipients. Six recipients will be studying at Wintec and 25 will be studying at the Waikato University. It is expected that scholarship recipients, after their first year of study, make themselves available to mentor new students and return to their nominating secondary school to promote the scholarships to students and staff.