Scholarship opens up pathway to a career fighting crime
Ivy, who is in her first year of study towards a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Cultural Anthropology is one of 12 winners of the inaugural Ngā Hoe a Kupe Pathfinder Scholarship, which is awarded to students from seven schools across the Wellington region. The scholarship—worth $50,000 over three years—means Ivy has guaranteed financial support, academic mentoring, and other assistance available to her throughout her undergraduate degree programme, including accomodation at a student hall in her first year of study.
Growing up in Wainuiomata, Ivy loved watching and reading about real crime stories online and thought that one day she’d like to join the police so she could make a difference and serve the community. But she didn’t think attending university was a realistic prospect.
“I wasn’t really keen on the idea of university at all—I just thought it wasn’t an option for me so I had no intention of going,” she explains. But her careers adviser at Wainuiomata High School, Cherie Holmes, told her about the scholarship and strongly encouraged her to apply for it. “Another one of my teachers, Simon Croft, gave me lots of great advice about why criminology and cultural anthropology would be good courses to study if I wanted to eventually be a detective.”
Ivy says the scholarship application process was relatively straightforward. “I really enjoyed writing the personal statement. A few of the others at my school who were applying for the scholarships got help writing their personal statements, but I wanted to do it by myself so that it was from the heart.”
She says she was overjoyed but genuinely surprised to be selected as one of the scholarship winners. “I was honestly shocked—I thought I had no chance of being picked because I was definitely not the top academic at school. But I guess the selectors were looking for people with the most potential,” she says.
“The day we found out, everyone else had received a phonecall (from Equity Scholarships Programme manager Gail Ah-Hi) letting them know if they’d been successful or not, but my phone never rang so I got really sad because I thought they’d forgotten about me! I emailed Gail and realised I’d accidentally given her one wrong digit in my phone number—she rang me back straight away with the news that I’d won.
“I just burst into tears. My boyfriend was with me when I got the call, and we rang everyone we knew. My family were so, so happy for me and so proud. I am the first person in my family to go to university—it’s a good feeling; really cool.”
The scholarship includes first year accommodation at the University residential halls, in Ivy’s case, Weir House. “It was such an amazing experience moving in and meeting everyone, especially with Orientation Week activities. I’m lucky to have my family reasonably close by so I often pop home to see my Mum in Wainuiomata on the weekends, but I really enjoy being in town at Weir House.”
Ivy says she’s received a lot of assistance from the University’s Scholarships Office. “Gail in particular has been a big help. For example, she set up a session for me with a Student Advisor, which showed me the three-year outline of which courses I needed to take to get my degree. It was valuable as I now can plan ahead and think about what elective papers I might want to do that complement my major.”
Her favourite subject so far is Cultural Anthropology—“I’m doing really well in that course because the content and assignments are so interesting, and I’ve got an extremely helpful lecturer.”
Ivy says anyone in Year 13 who thinks they might not be cut out for university should reconsider. “It’s definitely challenging but with the right support and determination, it’s possible to get your head around even the most difficult content. Don’t be so hard on yourself—if you have the drive and the right mindset you’ll have a really good chance of succeeding.
“For me, to be a detective would be a dream come true. This scholarship takes away the financial stress and allows me to study what I need to one day get the job of my dreams. I’m extremely grateful for it, and I strongly advise anyone who’s eligible to just go for it—if you believe in yourself and can tell your story, you have a good shot at getting a scholarship too.”
The 2022 Ngā Hoe a Kupe Pathfinder Scholarships are now open for applications. Applications close 1 October 2021, and further information can be sought from Gail Ah-Hi at gail.ah-hi@vuw.ac.nz.