The scholarships are designed to grow and retain highly qualified West Coast rangatahi on the West Coast by removing barriers to training and employment.
The scholarships are valued up to $32,500 per student, and also offer summer work and guaranteed employment on the West Coast on completion of the applicant’s tertiary study.
Chief Executive Heath Milne said DWC received 33 scholarship applications, “all of an astounding quality.”
“The scholarships are a clear highlight of the year for us.
“Reviewing the applications drives home how much amazing talent we have here on the Coast, and we need to ensure we retain this talent.
“Many of our best and brightest have to go out of the region for university and too many don’t come back. The scholarships are about encouraging them to come back to the Coast.
“There are many interesting and diverse career opportunities here with well-established and progressive businesses crying out for skilled staff.”
The recipients of the 2023 DWC scholarships were announced at a ceremony at Monteith’s in Greymouth last night.
DWC vocational coordinator Jade Mahuika said, “we look forward to working alongside these outstanding individuals over the next four years and cannot wait to see the value and impact they will bring to our region.”
Molly Williams
Molly Williams will be pursuing a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at Massey University.
Molly is from Moana and attended boarding school at St Margaret’s College, where she was the Head Prefect of Rimu house. Molly was selected for the gold medal winning Canterbury U18 Hockey team and was also selected to the NZ U18 Development squad for the Black Sticks. Molly was also awarded the Massey University Sports Scholarship.
Portia Wyatt
Portia Wyatt will be pursuing a Bachelor of Surveying at Otago University.
Portia attended Westland High School. She is an active member of Westland High’s leadership team Runanga Tauira. Portia was awarded the year 13 general excellence award, University of Otago DUX Scholarship, and Westland High’s DUX award.
Julian Guppy
Julian Guppy will be pursuing an Engineering Degree majoring in Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury.
Julian attended Karamea Area School. He is the student representative for the Board of Trustees. Julian received the Student of the Year award for Whenua Iti’s Adventure Leadership, he was also selected for the NZ Area School football team and sits on the Student Athlete Commission for the NZ Sports Association.
Zoe Double
Zoe Double will be pursuing a Bachelor of Science majoring in Environmental Science at Lincoln University.
Zoe attended Greymouth High School. She was awarded the Poisson Cup for Top Statistics Student and also the Paul Caffyn Award. Zoe volunteers every Saturday at the SPCA in Greymouth.