Applications Open for Scholarship Supporting Maori Students
to Achieve Global Academic Success
Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship Provides Five Students with $100K of Education & Mentoring Support for Third Consecutive Year
Applications are now open for the Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship, the only scholarship in the country that supports Maori secondary students looking to gain admission into the top global universities. Now in its third year, the scholarship will be awarded to five Maori high school students to help them achieve their academic dreams – whether that be to study Medicine at the University of Auckland, or Computer Science at Stanford.
The scholarship is provided by Crimson Education and was established to encourage young Maori students to embark on a journey to discover their greatest potential on the global stage. It also pays homage to the adventurous spirit of Kupe, a tribal warrior who journeyed to discover New Zealand, evoking the same bold spirit displayed by so many young Maori students. Each of the five recipients will receive personalised mentoring and education services worth $20,000 to help them apply for and receive acceptance into their desired university.
Last year’s scholarship recipients hailed from New Plymouth, Rotorua, Tauranga and Auckland. Three examples of the success of last year’s recipients include Adelaide Campbell (Spotswood College), who is currently at Otago University preparing to study dentistry, Anais Magner (Aquinas College), who has gained an incredible scholarship to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and Isabella Miriama Ngaire Ashby (Western Springs College), who has been successfully elected to the board of trustees at her school and is currently planning a trip to attend a course at NASA in 2020.
Anais explains: “Since receiving this scholarship, I have gone on to receive both NCEA level 2 and 3 with Excellence endorsements and was a part of the Crimson Harvard and Yale Model UN delegation held earlier this year.”
“The Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship has helped me to receive an 80% scholarship to Mount Holyoke College, the oldest institution in the female equivalent of the Ivy League, the Seven Sisters. I will also become a member of the Mount Holyoke swim team come fall. 2019 has been an amazing year for me so far. My scholarship to Mount Holyoke College is fantastic and I owe it all to the Crimson team and the Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship.”
Adelaide comments: “Since being awarded the Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship, I have begun my first year studying health science at the University of Otago with my aim being a degree in Dentistry as a professional course, or a Bachelor of Science majoring in psychology.
“Starting university was a major challenge for me academically as the workload increased substantially from my high school studies. But I have had incredible support from Crimson Education, not just academically but personally as they have guided me through challenges and helped me thrive in all aspects of my life at Otago.
“All of my tutors have worked around my needs to offer me the best resources and tutoring available. The friendly nature of the team has allowed me to settle in as a University student and helped me overcome challenges throughout the year.”
Isabella adds: “I feel very lucky to have been a recipient of the Te Ara A Kupe Beaton scholarship in 2018. Since then I have been mainly focusing on my studies, and dedicating my remaining time to various competitions and extracurricular activities.
“Recent highlights among these include being elected to my school’s board of trustees, fundraising to attend a course at NASA in 2020, and representing my school in debating, Epro8 and Manu Korero. I have also attended a week long Kura Reo and a hands-on archaeology course at Otago University.
“This scholarship has been invaluable to me in securing success in these endeavors, as it has allowed me to remedy any issues I encounter with help from knowledgeable individuals all around the world – whereas I once would’ve been forced to navigate these mazes alone. In the future, I aim to study medicine overseas. I’d like to thank the Crimson team for all their help so far, and for their help to come over the next two years.”
Crimson Education specialises in helping students navigate the complex admission and application processes to global top ranking universities. They do this by equipping their students with a personalised support team that matches their goals, interests and aptitude.
Crimson Education CEO and Co-founder Jamie Beaton, who established the scholarship program in 2017, says that he is excited to see the applications that this year’s entries will bring.
“The Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship provides an important opportunity to celebrate Maori secondary students who have ambition to realise their greatest potential, as exceptional leaders, academic performers, innovators and community members,” says Beaton.
“Last year’s scholarship recipients each demonstrated incredible grit, self-motivation and a desire to make a positive impact within the Maori community and on the world stage as they looked towards their university education and future careers. Three of the five finalists expressed a passion to enter into medicine, to increase access to healthcare and improve health outcomes for the Maori community.”
“We are proud to see the strides that our previous recipients have made, from securing school Dux to gaining scholarships to study at international universities, and we look forward to seeing the caliber of applications that this year’s scholarship will bring,” says Beaton.
Crimson Education believes in the power of personalised education and mentoring. The Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship program is designed to support students with expert guidance and resources that enable young New Zealanders to shine.
Key dates for the 2019 Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship are:
Applications Open: Monday 29th April
Applications Close: Sunday 26th May
Interviews Finish: Sunday 2nd June
Awards Night: Sunday 23rd June
Winners Announced: Monday 24th June
To apply or for more information, please visit https://pages.crimsoneducation.org/te-ara-a-kupe-beaton-scholarship.html
Or contact Anna Howard at Crimson Education:
Email: a.howard@crimsoneducation.org
Phone: +64 9-303-0086
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Photo and video opportunities are available at the awards night for media wishing to attend the live awards ceremony. B-roll and photographs will be provided to media for their free use following the event.
Biographies of Previous Award Winners in 2018
- Te Ao Leach
Te Ao is Deputy Head Girl at Rotorua Girls High and in 2017 was Dux of Year 12. She has deep Maori cultural involvement and is a member of the 2016 and 2018 Raukura Kapa Haka team that won back to back Secondary School Kapa Haka National titles. Some of the many destinations Te Ao has visited with the group include: Australia, Portugal, China, Las Vegas and Tahiti, Spain as well as Hong Kong.
Te Ao wishes to pursue Commerce/Law at the University of Auckland. Earlier this year she was the recipient of the One Chance Youth Awards and won the Most Awesome Youth 2018 category. She is also a peer mentor and helps students with an afternoon homework club. She is a passionate basketballer who has toured Australia and New Zealand, winning a National basketball title. Last year she was invited to trial for the New Zealand U18s Women’s Basketball Team and was named as a Reserve and wider squad member. She was also selected for the Varsity Women’s Basketball Team that travelled to Las Vegas, two of the three Big Foot Tournaments. Te Ao is also a three-time Kapa Haka National Champion. - Adelaide Campbell
Adelaide is Head Girl of Spotswood College, New Plymouth and was top scholar in Year 13. She has ambitions to pursue a career in the health sciences; particularly medical research to make a positive impact on Maori health. She will be the first in her Whanau to attend university in New Zealand. Adelaide is currently involved in the why-ora programme held at the Taranaki base hospital; an initiative which focuses on Maori students having the opportunity to understand more about health and looking at health related careers. Adelaide is involved in many fundraising activities and also tree planning initiatives in south Taranaki. Adelaide is also captain of the soccer first XI team this year and has participated in Iwi sports events such as the tri-maori and maunga-series.
- Isabella Miriama Ngaire Ashby
Year 11 student Isabella attends Western Springs College, Auckland and has received top academic awards. She has been interested in Ivy League institutions since she was 10-years-old, as her grandmother is an educator, and would tell Isabella about these places after travelling to them. Isabella is interested in applying to the University of Oxford with a dream to go to medical school and become a neuropsychiatric researcher.
She is the leader of her school’s Senior Debating Team, leader of the Rumaki Book Club – inspiring Maori students’ enjoyment in reading, organizer of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at her school, school peace ambassador, and upholds many more positions of leadership.
Isabella is in total immersion at Western Springs, and attempts to unite the school book club, and the Rumaki book club, so the pakeha students can have more exposure to Maori culture and tikanga. She took this goal when competing in the New Zealand Spelling Bee final in 2017. - Anais Magner
Year 12 student Anais attends Aquinas College, Tauranga with a dream to study Mathematics and Law at a Top US university that would grow her cultural knowledge base while achieving a highly regarded, world renowned degree.
Anais’ community initiatives include being selected to be a part of the pilot Ngati Awa Rangatahi programme in 2017, attending He anamata and the He rangatahi conference in 2018. She was also involved in the Maori Women’s Welfare League Wairaka in 2017 and 2018.
Anais is an accelerant student; in Year 10 she was offered extension classes in Science and Math. This year, in Year 12, she is on track to achieving excellence in level 3 Chemistry, History, Calculus, Religious Education, Physics and level 2 English. Last year she also achieved Aquinas Academic Honours in 2017.
Her goal is to achieve excellence in all of her subjects and in the scholarship Calculus exam at the end of the year. Anais has competed regionally in the Aquinas College Chamber Group and competed in the College String Ensemble. On top of this, Anais has medaled in her swimming competitions in backstroke and Surf Lifesaving Championships, and has competed in the NZ Open Water Swimming Championships in the epic 5km category.
Adam King
The Year 13 student and Prefect at Mt Roskill Grammar School is looking to challenge himself, and potentially take more scholarships this year, with the mentoring and support from Crimson.
Adam’s personal experience has given him a passion to pursue Medicine, in particular Oncology through studying Biomedical Science at the University of Auckland to combat the inequalities in health between Maori people in contrast to non-Maori. He is also passionate about Journalism which he sees as a medium to campaign for the well-being of Maori people and their futures.
During high school, Adam participates in School Choir, Amnesty International and an Advanced Mediation Programme. His 2018 leadership activities include: Maori peer mentoring, Academic peer mentoring, as well as being a member of the Whakapiki Ake Programme and Rise Up Trust.