Callum Hunter
Tauranga
Callum Hunter has loved studying classics and economics at Auckland University for the past two years, so it was an easy decision to add a Bachelor of Theology to his workload for 2015.
“I took a couple of courses last year and it was really enjoyable. It sits in well with classics in terms of history. I spend a lot of time studying the church under the early Roman Empire and I’m hoping to do Honours or maybe my Masters in it.”
The 20 year-old from Tauranga will receive a $3000 Dillon Scholarship from BayTrust this year, having suffered his entire life from an unknown condition that affects his digestive system and other muscles.
“It fatigues you really quickly so you don’t have a lot of energy by the end of the day. When I’m studying I have to be really careful not to get bogged down and take enough time out to rest and recuperate.”
Callum says receiving a Dillon Scholarship has eased the financial pressure and worry associated with studying fulltime. It will allow him to focus on university without the need to get a part-time job to support himself.
“That’s huge because spending that sort of energy on working to live would have made uni undoable for me if I didn’t have that financial help.”
Ian Davis
Tauranga
When Ian Davis had a motorcycle accident 30 years ago, it turned his whole world upside down.
The soccer-playing 24 year-old was planning to embark on his OE. Instead a crack in his pelvis left him virtually crippled when osteoarthritis set in. Side-effects from medication also led to heart failure some years later.
“I was over 90 per cent immobile. I couldn’t walk. Lying on my back was painful. The severity was huge.”
After a heart operation and two hip replacements, he slowly began to recover and promised himself he was one day going to re-enter the workforce.
“I was a positive, happy person by nature and that helped me go through that experience and start recovery in a positive way. I also had a passion for helping people in a similar situation.”
In August 2007 Ian began working in the mental health field at the Bay of Plenty Community Homes Trust and subsequently gained a qualification. In 2011 he secured a job as the mental health coordinator for Whaioranga Trust – a Maori health and social service provider.
In 2012 he decided to further his skills by enrolling at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute to complete a Degree in Counselling. Now aged 57, Ian says the emotional, mental and physical journey he has been on gives him a great deal of empathy with other people.
This year he will receive a Dillon Scholarship from BayTrust to help continue his studies.
Ian says the money will help pay for expensive text books and cover his daily travel costs to school and to visit clients as part of his practicum experience.
“A Dillon Scholarship gives me peace of mind. Disabilities are always there but you don’t need to drag it round like a ball and chain or to use it as an obstacle to stop achieving your own hopes and dreams.”
Eva Gilchrist
Whakatane
When your goal is to become a professional photographer, having a top quality camera is a must.
Thanks to a $2250 Dillon Scholarship, 18 year-old Eva Gilchrist will be able to purchase the exact equipment she needs for her Bachelor of Media Arts course at Waikato Institute of Technology in Hamilton when she begins this February.
“Studying is so expensive and it will be a big advantage to have a camera of my own to use. I can’t wait!”
Eva has always loved photography and is extremely excited about moving into student accommodation on campus in Hamilton and beginning tertiary study.
The extra funds will also help pay for a gym membership so she can keep up the physical therapy she requires to treat her cerebral palsy.
“It affects my hips and feet so I can’t walk properly. I’ve had five operations over the years to straighten things out but I do need to maintain it with physical therapy.”
Eva’s course will also teach her new film cameras techniques beyond what she already knows, and she hopes to work in both mediums when she graduates in three years’ time.
Natalie Wineti
Rotorua
Taking on tertiary study when you have a young baby and only one income is a big challenge – but one that Natalie Wineti has taken in her stride.
The 30 year-old is used to overcoming obstacles, having once been told she was unlikely to live past the age of 21 due to cystic fibrosis.
She is now in her third and final year of a Bachelor of Applied Social Science at Waiariki Polytechnic and hopes to work in either probation or with Child Youth and Family when she graduates.
“I have a lot of friends and family who have gone through some rough times. That’s what led me to want to do social work. I just want to work with vulnerable people.”
Last year Natalie undertook a three month practicum and thoroughly enjoyed putting her new skills to good use.
Natalie is now tackling her cystic fibrosis head on. “It affects my lungs and my pancreas but I’m feeling really well and keeping on top of my illness. I take 30 tablets a day plus use asthma inhalers and a nebulizer every day. I also get up at 5am to go jogging on my treadmill.”
This is the first year Natalie has received a Dillon Scholarship, having enquired about it just one day before applications closed. “It will be a really big help financially. We rely on my husband’s income and I’ve got a student loan so it will help a lot.”
Richard Paull
Taupo
Richard Paull is no ordinary musician. The talented violinist and trumpet player can not only recall every note he needs to play from memory – he can also remember which notes those around him are supposed to hit.
The 19 year-old from Taupo has autism which gives him the unique ability to unlock musical gifts which others cannot.
He has ‘absolute pitch’ (also known as ‘perfect pitch’) which only one in every 10,000 people can access. This allows him to hear any sound and identify the exact note it is straight away.
“Most people can’t do that, so that’s helped me get a head start in music,” he says.
He has performed with Taupo’s Great Lake Big Band since he was 14, playing the third trumpet. But if the first or second trumpeter was ever absent, he could easily slot in and play their part without ever having studied their sheet music.
Richard will embark on a Bachelor of Music majoring in composition at Auckland University this year thanks to a $2500 Dillon Scholarship.
He has also been accepted into the prestigious Auckland Youth Orchestra playing the violin, and will tour with the group in conjunction with his tertiary studies.
“Music is more enjoyable if you play with other people. Being in this orchestra means I’ll get to play alongside very talented musicians.”
Richard hopes to one day become a professional musician and says he prefers to think of himself as “hardworking” rather than “gifted”.
“Music is one of the ways for me to interact with other people. It helps me to express myself.”
Find out more about the BayTrust Dillon Scholarship fund
