“Originally from South Africa, education was very important in our household and I always knew I wanted to go to university. However, when my dad was forced to retire our family went through very difficult times financially and I ended up completing high school by distance so I could work to support the family. When the recession hit us hard, my Kiwi husband and I decided to move to New Zealand, with our seven-month old son, to go dairy farming. I felt a bit lost starting over in a new country with a new baby so I didn't pursue university study right away.

In 2015, my husband was offered a job on a farm in Australia so our family of five moved over the ditch. However, eight months later, and having already started my extramural study with Massey, half the business closed and my husband was made redundant. After living in a tent for a few weeks with our three boys, my husband was fortunately offered another job. However it meant a pay cut and financially things were very tight.

Despite the uncertainty and challenges, I was determined to keep studying because I had already waited so long and I felt like it was the only way to give our children a good, stable future. I also wanted to set an example to my boys of being committed to your goals. Without the bursary, this wouldn't have been possible. It helped me buy my textbooks for the year, paid for my overseas exam fees, bought a cheap laptop to study wherever we happened to be and it helped towards my internet costs for the year.

Studying with Massey has meant that even though 2016 was extremely challenging on many levels, I was still able to continue studying and achieve my best. I even managed to make the Massey Business School’s Dean's List for 2016. Thank you to the Massey Foundation and the Peter Collett Extramural Bursary for providing this huge assistance to me at a difficult time.”

“I was born in Samoa and came to New Zealand as a three-year-old. My parents were never in a position financially to pay for higher education so after finishing high school I entered the workforce to help my parents with the bills.

In 2010 my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My husband and I decided that I would quit my job to take care of my mother. During those final months of her life I spent a lot of time with my mother and I came to understand that she was a very intelligent woman but, like our family growing up, her family’s poverty prevented her from going further in education. I questioned her on why she didn’t seek opportunities for further education after arriving in New Zealand and her answer broke my heart. She said, “because no one ever told me I could”.

After mum passed away, I decided not to return to work, instead opting to be a stay-at-home mum to our long-awaited baby as well as caring for my aged father who has Alzheimer’s. Among all this, I decided I will start my journey of gaining a university education so I enrolled in a Bachelor of Communication extramurally with Massey. It has not been easy living in Auckland on one income. Some weeks we are only living off bread and eggs but we are getting through.

When I first started my study, my laptop was on the verge of dying. I worried about it crashing as there was no extra money to pay for a new one. A friend of mine encouraged me to look into scholarships and I was so surprised and grateful to receive the Peter Collett bursary. My laptop died not long after this and I used the remaining money for textbooks. The bursary was an enormous help and took the pressure off my family to find this extra money.

After I graduate I want to inspire Pasifika adults to take up the opportunities available to them in Aotearoa to get an education. When my mother said those words, “no one ever told me I could”, I was determined to be the first to show other Pasifika adults that they can too. Education is the key to opportunities, not just for their children but also for the parents who bring their families here for a brighter future. And what greater inspiration is there for children to get an education than to see their parents doing it first.”

SCHOLARSHIP TAKES STING OUT OF STUDY ABROAD

Overseas study has always been on the cards for Anna Wilson, and scholarship support has helped make that goal achievable. The Bachelor of Agricultural Science student received $3000 through the Violet Wickham Bursary in 2022 and a further $4000 this year. Anna is self-funding her university education through part-time work and the student loan, and was recently awarded a Commonwealth Supported Place – a subsidy – to do a Masters in Agricultural Science, majoring in Agribusiness, at the University of Melbourne. “My goal has always been to go overseas to continue studying and as soon as you leave New Zealand your student loan starts accruing interest. The bursary has allowed me to keep my student loan as low as possible, making overseas study more financially feasible.” An internship at Fonterra in the Waikato last summer, while hugely interesting and inspiring, did not match her normal 60 hours a week of farm work over the summer, so her savings were below normal. “Last year the bursary helped pay my second semester fees and I was able to avoid using the student loan in the second half of the year. “This year it’s helped me cover course costs and the rising cost of living. My flatmates and I get about half as much bang for our buck at the supermarket than we did when we started flatting. Our costs have gone up by about $100 a week since we started university. The Violet Wickham Bursary has gone a huge way to help soften the blow.” Anna, a talented athlete who will line up for the Coast to Coast next February, plans to return to New Zealand after her Masters and embark on a career combining environmental science and sustainability with agribusiness. “I want to contribute to sustainable farming so we can continue it for generations to come while also making a profit from it.” She is “incredibly grateful” to the Wickhams for their generous and selfless support. The Violet Wickham Bursary is awarded to undergraduate agriculture students suffering financial hardship. It was established in 2016 by the late farm animal genetics pioneer Dr Brian Wickham in memory of his mother. Brian and his wife Alison donated a further $500,000 to the fund shortly before his passing in August this year after a long battle with cancer.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH SCHOLARSHIP

Aryan McKay’s doctoral research hits particularly close to home. The Massey University clinical psychology doctoral student is investigating the hauora (holistic wellbeing) benefits and therapeutic applications of taonga pūoro (Māori musical taonga). Aryan has first-hand experience of the therapeutic powers of taonga pūoro, using music to help overcome depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia. But the motivation for her thesis came from her children. “I have two boys who have been diagnosed with ADHD and they have quite complex, high-need behaviours and learning requirements. I wanted to learn more about taonga pūoro and support them better.” The use of taonga pūoro has helped her boys calm down when they’re hyperactive or emotionally dysregulated, Aryan says, “I've also seen it help them focus, learn, express themselves, and build their confidence. “It's not just about me playing taonga pūoro to them. They've played and made taonga pūoro, and they've come to wānanga and oro (sound) sessions with me. The benefits are in all of those processes.” A two-time recipient of the Lovell and Berys Clark Scholarship, Aryan says the support, totalling $15,600, has relieved the financial pressure of her study enormously. The scholarship has funded a range of costs associated with her research. “I live in southeast Auckland with my husband and our four tamariki. For our high-needs children, there’s quite a bit involved in their care and looking after them takes a lot of time and money. But just living in Auckland with four kids is expensive enough.” “[Without the scholarship] I might have been able to pull this off, but it would have been a lot more stressful and I would have had to go into debt to manage it.” In her third of four years of doctoral study, Aryan plans to become a pediatric clinical neuropsychologist and also intends to carry out postdoctorate research in the field. “I have a lot of experience being a consumer of these services, and I believe my lived experience will help me become a better clinician. “I’m very grateful for the support of the scholarship. It’s been really meaningful for me.” The Lovell and Berys Clark Scholarships were established with a $500,000 gift from the late Lovell Clark and his wife Berys in 2002. Berys passed away last year and bequeathed a further $1.97 million to the fund. The scholarships support post doctorate students across a range of disciplines. Thank you for your support