Twelve post-graduate Massey University students have been awarded scholarships totalling $73,000 by the Graduate Women Manawatū Charitable Trust.
Presentations were made to the postgraduate students at a celebratory luncheon held at Wharerata Massey University on June 25th. The luncheon, attended by the postgraduate students, their families and supporters, Massey University research supervisors, and members of Graduate Women Manawatu with some travelling from Nelson, Waiheke Island and Great Barrier to attend the event. The guest speaker, Professor Jenny Carryer, CNZM, Professor of Nursing Massey University, provided an inspiring address on the binary nature of the disparity in female dominated roles within the health sector and the nurse practitioner as a solution to solving the current GP crisis.
As the luncheon was on the day we celebrated Matariki, it was fitting that Professor Carryer invited the audience to reflect on the meaning of Matariki; as a time to reflect on the past year, celebrate the present, and plan for the year ahead. This matches the annual Graduate Women Postgraduate Scholarships acknowledging academic excellence.
The 2022 awardees are: Caitlin McLeod, Elise O’Brien, Jasmeena Hari, Lucy Grunfeld, Michaela Heron, Sacha Malkin, Sarah Markert, Savannah Mouat, Shanti Patel-Cornish, Susan McLachlan, Victoria Fuller, and Vivienne Eggers. Recipients are studying towards Honours or Master degrees in their chosen disciplines at one of Massey University’s campuses or through distance. Research topics are in subject areas as diverse as waste management, industrial design, intimate partner violence, the experience of married women who choose abortions, and behaviour roles of North Island brown kiwi.
Funding for the scholarships is derived from the hire of academic regalia. Graduate Women Manawatu Charitable Trust Inc owns and operates the Academic Dress Hire business based on the Massey University campus, Palmerston North. This business supplies academic gowns and gowning services for all graduation ceremonies at Massey University, and provides gowns for graduations at other tertiary institutions throughout the lower North Island. As a charitable entity all profit from the business is reinvested in education through provision of a variety of scholarships and awards for women throughout New Zealand.