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The KEECT Chair Stephanie Harris

September 17, 2021

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa
Good afternoon and a warm welcome to you all…
To our Honoured Guests; our speakers; our sponsor partners who have supported the awards – thank you for joining us today.
Welcome to our Awards Committee and the Selection Panellists – selecting the awardees from so many wonderful applications is such a difficult job! Thank you for your time and for your involvement with the Trust.
And of course – welcome to you, our awardees. We are here to honour you. You have achieved so much; with your families, whanau and friends who have helped over the years and are now celebrating your success. Over the last year or so, we have had different challenges, with lockdowns, studying from home… many congratulations to you all for persevering with your dreams.

The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust – we provide funds – promoting, advancing and encouraging education.
What better way to fulfil our purpose than to support our students of today, to assist you into the future, to help you, your families and your communities.
On the front of your programme is a quote from W.E.B Dubois, pioneering African American sociologist and civil rights activist – “Education must not simply teach work, it must teach life”.

We firmly believe in the wider Power of Education. Although gaining a job is an important outcome, an education provides much more as well. You will have your horizons broadened and be exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking that may change your life forever; many of you will meet new people and make life-long friends. Your education may change the life path that you were on, or it may confirm the path you have always wanted to follow. In the world today, it is more important than ever that we are equipped with the knowledge we need to make well-informed, well-reasoned decisions about the things that are important in our lives. Your education, no matter what you are studying, will help you to do this.

Some of you may not have been able to study without the financial support; some of you may be the first in your family to attend university. For all of you receiving an award today, the course of study that you have chosen will be of huge benefit to you personally in the future. But the benefits go beyond you and extend to your families, your communities and to society as a whole. The Trust is immensely proud that we can play a small part in helping you to change the world in whatever way, big or small, that you choose.

The trust is named after Kate Edger – in 1877, Kate became the first woman in New Zealand to gain a university degree and the first woman in the British Empire to earn a BA (in Maths and Latin). Kate’s original graduation hood is here with us today – on the mannequin! Kate also believed in the Power of Education and in the importance of women’s education in creating a better society. She was also a great supporter of and role model for the Suffrage Movement and she strongly advocated for women to use the vote to bring about change and improvement in the world. To Kate, education was about improving one’s character and preparing to serve the community, as it was about educating the mind. She believed it was the responsibility of those who had received an education to go on to use their skills and knowledge to make a difference in the world.

When Kate graduated, in the Choral Hall in Symonds Street, just a few minutes walk from here, the crowds gathered. And in honour of her achievement, the Bishop of Auckland presented her with a white camellia, said to symbolise unpretending excellence. The white rose you have been given today is also to symbolise this – unfortunately it is the wrong season for camellias! We are here to acknowledge your achievements, your unpretending excellence. Congratulations on your award.

I would also like to acknowledge Bessie Te Wenerau Grace, affiliated with Ngāti Tūwharetoa who was the first Māori woman to graduate from university, in 1926. This was 49 years after Kate Edger had paved the way. Interesting that Kate Edger was the first principal at Nelson College for Girls, which was the school that Bessie attended a few years later.

We would like to thank all of our loyal supporters, including our generous donors and partner sponsors, many of whom have representatives here today- Vinka Marinovich estate; the Titirangi and Block House Bay Women’s Institute; Bed Bath & Beyond, Timeless Images Photography, the NZ Contemporary Art Trust, Scarecrow Florist, Watercare and Westferry Property Services. Despite the challenging times with Covid19 where we had months of no income (a large part of our income comes from hiring and selling of regalia for graduation, school prizegiving and legal ceremonies), we were still able to fund over 90 awards in the last 12 months, worth nearly $500,000.
The opportunities and choices that young women have available to them today, are a direct result of the efforts of several generations of women who have gone before you – the Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust is a living example of this whakapapa. We hope that you will go out into the world with the benefits of the education you have gained, so that future generations can reap the rewards of the impact that you will make.

Before I finish, there is someone I am pleased to introduce as today marks an auspicious occasion.

After a long association with the Trust, Emeritus Professor Dame Charmian O’Connor has announced her retirement. She was the driving force behind the setting up of The KEECT in 2005, she served as the Chair of the Trust then as a Trustee and Chair of the KEECT Awards Committee until the present day. Charmian’s incredible foresight, her hard work and wisdom has now resulted in over 1,200 awardees and the Trust is now known as one of the major educational funders in the Auckland Region.

Like Kate Edger, Dame Charmian had many firsts in her illustrious career, including:

1973 – first woman in New Zealand to be conferred to the degree of a Doctor of Science.

1986 – first female professor of chemistry at University of Auckland (a lecturer in chemistry since 1958)

She authored and co-authored more than 300 scientific papers in refereed journals and held many administrative roles including serving as the inaugural assistant vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellor in 1994. When she retired from the University of Auckland in 2004, O’Connor was conferred the title of Professor Emeritus, a very fitting acknowledgement of all that she had contributed during her academic career.

In the 1989 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Charmian was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to chemistry, education and the community. Later in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours, she was awarded a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to chemistry and education.

While she will be taking a step back from active involvement, her amazing intellect will not be entirely lost to us as Charmian will continue to serve on some Award Selection Panels and she will always be a precious taonga for The KEECT.

Charmian, we wanted to acknowledge the huge contribution that you have made to The KEECT and we want assure you that we will work to protect and extend the legacy that you have created. Thank you for your time, passion and skills and we wish you a long and happy retirement. Please accept a small token of appreciation – a bouquet of flowers.

To all our awardees, once again congratulations. We look forward to hearing from you all in the future about your wonderful achievements and the difference which education has made in your lives.

Maja Ranzinger – Engineering Awardee

September 16, 2021

Congratulations to AUT engineering student Maja Ranzinger who is the inaugural recipient of the KEECT Watercare and Ghella Abergeldie partnership Engineering Award, established by the Kate Interceptor Project.  In July 2020, the project unveiled the training tunnel boring machine (TBM), named KATE in honour of Kate Edger.  Read more here

This engineering scholarship is worth $5000 and the Trust partnered with the University of Auckland’s Women in Engineering Network and AUT Stem Women Group to finalise the winner.  Applicants were judged based on their GPA scores, initiative, passion and extra-curricular interests.

Central Interceptor’s sustainability and community outcomes manager Bernice Chiam, who was on the selection committee, says she was very impressed by the standard of the applicants.  “It was a challenge to pick just one winner, but Maja really impressed us with her ambition and work ethic.”

Maja is a second-year student at AUT, doing a double degree – bachelor’s in mechanical engineering as well as a bachelor’s in business studies majoring in Finance.  “I’ve always wanted to do a double degree and this scholarship means I don’t have to worry about the tuition so much – I can just focus on completing my course work successfully.”

After receiving the news of her award, Maja (centre) came to Academic Dress Hire to meet with Watercare Executive Programme Director, Shayne Cunis, Sustainability and Community Outcomes Manager, Bernice Chiam, Ghella Abergeldie Project Director, Francesco Saibene, and representatives from the KEECT Nina Tomaszyk (GM), Katrina Ford (Awards Coordinator), and Margaret Worth (Selection Panelist).

Marian Hassan – Awardee Speaker 2021

September 9, 2021

Tena koutou katoa.

My name is Marian. It is a privilege and an honour to be standing before you this afternoon. Congratulations to all the awardees.   I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Trustees on behalf of all the awardees. Thank you to Stephanie Harris, Margaret Crannigan Allen, Dame Charmian O’Connor, Sonia Pechner, Jill Smith, Hilary Lewis, Professor Linda Bryder, and the General Manager of the Trust, Nina Tomaszyk .  Because of you we are here today celebrating our incredible achievements.  I would also like to thank the awards coordinator Dr Katrina Ford for her hard work, and to thank every single person who has made today possible. 

Marian Hassan – Awardee Speaker 2021 Award Ceremony

I am a former refugee; I came to New Zealand when I was 10 years old and I have been here for over 20 years.   When I came to New Zealand, I could not speak English; I could not read or write. I feel privileged to have been educated in New Zealand because had I been in my home country, Somalia, I certainly would not have had that opportunity.

My education journey would be very different if it were not for the support of my family, especially my mother, who is in the audience today. She would stay up every night for me until I came home from uni. Sometimes it was very late at night, but she would still be awake waiting for me.  She always reminded me to look after myself and to look after my mental health.  Unfortunately, my mother did not get the opportunities that I have today; nevertheless, she understood the importance of education and has ensured my siblings and I have obtained the best education possible.  

The primary purpose of the Kate Edger Charitable Trust Awards is to provide funds for the promotion, advancement and encouragement of education amongst women, whether it be in the spheres of research and professional activities or artistic and creative activities.  It is a charitable trust whose main purpose is to help women achieve their educational goals, through the provision of scholarships, financial and other assistance. The awards have made it possible for all of us to continue with our education and to keep going and to reach our goals and aspirations. For me personally, it has meant that I did not have to work while also studying full-time and raising two young children.   

We all know the value and importance of education.  Education allows us to gain knowledge, and be critical thinkers. It empowers us and gives us the skills we need to make the world a better place. Education makes us better able to deal with adversity, and the more knowledge we gain the more opportunities will open to us, giving us better possibilities in our lives. 

Thank you and I hope that you all enjoy your afternoon.  

Aryan McKay | First Year Doctoral Award

Aryan McKay (Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai, Ngāti Porou)

Kia ora. My name is Aryan McKay (Ngāpuhi, Ngātiwai, Ngāti Porou). I grew up in Te Taitokerau (Northland) and currently live in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) with my husband and four tamariki (children). I am currently pursuing a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Massey University and I am the very grateful recipient of a Kate Edger Charitable Trust’s First Year Doctoral Award. 

I am also a published poet and experienced musician with a particular interest in the therapeutic benefits of Māori creative practices. This interest has been fuelled by my own experience using music as a healing tool to overcome depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia. For my doctoral thesis I am exploring Māori perspectives on the hauora hinengaro (psychological) benefits and therapeutic applications of taonga pūoro (Māori musical instruments). I have been asked to share a little bit about my progress so far. 

Most of my year has been focused on conceptualisation. I know that if I can get this right from the start things will flow more smoothly later on. I landed quite early on a general area of inquiry (i.e., Māori music and hauora). However, finding the specific way I can best contribute to this space has been a long and winding journey.

Some of that journey has involved reviewing the existing literature about the hauora hinengaro benefits of taonga pūoro and related practices. While there have not been many academic studies focused specifically on the use of taonga pūoro in this context, robust evidence supports the benefits of related practices (e.g. kapa haka, indigenous sound healing, music therapy). There is also a growing body of research that highlights the health and wellbeing benefits of music from a neuroscience perspective.

Another essential part of my process has been consulting kanohi-ki-te-kanohi (face to face) with my supervisors, kaumātua, mātauranga Māori experts, Kaupapa Māori research experts, and members of the taonga pūoro community. Through this, I’ve been able to expand my knowledge about taonga pūoro, find out about other taonga pūoro research projects, and build collaborative relationships with key taonga pūoro makers, players and researchers. A lot of this took place at various wānanga (learning gatherings) around the country, which I was able to attend thanks to your financial support.

The final key contributor to my progress has been starting to immerse myself in making and playing taonga pūoro and documenting how this practice supports my hauora hinengaro and my whānau’s hauora hinengaro. This has been particularly salient during lockdown. Playing taonga pūoro has been a great way to relieve the normal anxiety and high emotions that can arise in this situation. Experiencing these benefits first-hand has helped me gain a deeper understanding of the concepts discussed during wānanga and in the literature.

I am looking forward to completing the first draft of my literature review, gaining ethics approval, holding my confirmation event, and starting recruitment over the next few months. Thank you so much for your support.

taonga pūoro (Māori musical instruments)

Partner Sponsor Profile | Bed, Bath & Beyond

Bed, Bath and Beyond NZ are always looking for ways to support and engage with their staff and communities, so when the opportunity arose to become a sponsor partner with The KEECT, CEO Trevor Brown and his wife Carolyn saw it as a meaningful way they could make a difference in the South Auckland area where many of the Bed, Bath & Beyond staff and families are based.  

“BB&B has always had strong connections with this vibrant part of Tamaki Makaurau, with many of our staff belonging to the community. Our warehouse/support office was originally in Papakura and is now in Manurewa, hence our desire to create scholarships for both Manurewa High School and Manukau Institute of Technology”.

They have established 3 scholarships with The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust:

  • Bed, Bath & Beyond MIT Award – to assist a woman enrolled in the first year of a three-year degree course at Manukau Institute of Technology
  • Bed, Bath & Beyond Staff Award – to assist a child of a Bed Bath & Beyond Employee enrolled in a three or four year degree course at an NZ tertiary institute.
  • Bed, Bath & Beyond Manurewa High School Award – assist a Manurewa High School student who is planning to enroll in a three or four year degree course at a NZ tertiary institute

Carolyn and Trevor say they have been “incredibly impressed with the candidates over the past 2 years, and we really enjoy keeping in touch with our awardees throughout their university journeys”.

One of these awardees is Janny Latthiwan-Jones, pictured with owner and CEO Trevor Brown, who was the inaugural recipient of the BB&B Manurewa High School Award.  

Janny was a standout candidate and tells us how receiving the award has impacted her:

“I am in my first year of studying for a 4 year honours degree in Engineering at the University of Auckland. I’ve decided to pursue engineering to help me achieve my goal in combating global issues such as climate change, poverty, and women’s rights.  

The Bed Bath & Beyond Manurewa High School Award has helped me significantly with my tertiary education.  The money had covered my course books, stationery, and other tertiary essentials. It also covers my commute that consists of a 40-minute train ride one way and costs around $50 per week.  The award had put less pressure on me financially.  Without it, I would have had less time to pursue my education to fit in my part-time job alongside my other commitments.  Overall, the award has benefited me in many ways, and I am very grateful to have received it.  “

The KEECT Alumni – Jessica H

September 8, 2021

Jessica* (Jess)  is much more than meets the eye.  She is an articulate, vibrant and intelligent woman with a back story that completely belies where she is today.  Jess is a past Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust awardee and is also a KEECT Selection Panelist.  She gained a BA in Criminology in 2018, and is passionate about reform and equity in the Criminal Justice System.  Jess has since worked on a number of related projects as well as volunteering for a drug and alcohol support service.

What is most remarkable about Jess is that her passion and drive to work in these areas stems from her own personal experiences with mental health, drug addiction and incarceration – not something you would ever consider when you first meet her.

Jess tells of an idyllic childhood with a keen love of learning but going off the rails in her mid-teens, failing School Certificate and making the decision to leave school at 15 because ‘education was boring and not for her’.  The next 10 years spiraled into a black hole of drugs and alcohol, an eating disorder, addiction, and ultimately crime.  At the age of 26 she was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months in prison for supplying methamphetamine.

6 months into her sentence, finally clean and sober for the first time in 10 years, she started taking courses – bible studies, barista training, arts and crafts, life skills…. small steps but she soon began to recognize her old self again, and her love of learning was rekindled.

On her release, adjusting to life on the outside was overwhelming.  Although clean from drugs and alcohol, she was suffering a major anxiety disorder, and with no real work experience or education, was at a loss with where to start rebuilding her life.  But the world works in mysterious ways and a chance encounter with a brochure stand at a church where she’d gone to vote, led her to New Start, a preparation and bridging programme at the University of Auckland that “welcomes everyone with the potential and drive to succeed” recognizing that “many capable people don’t do very well at school”.  Finding this opportunity opened the door for the next chapter of her life – tertiary education.

Starting the course was tough as she worried that she wasn’t smart enough to study or that people would judge her for her past, but she persevered and not only completed the course with excellent grades that gained her university entrance, but she also won the Top of The Class award for her year.  As it later turned out, this was the first of many Top of the Class awards that she would receive throughout her university studies.

Despite her achievement of completing the New Start course, Jess felt overwhelmed by the whole studying process and didn’t want to start a degree.  However, with her family’s support and encouragement, along with the KEECT financial Award, she decided to give it a go.  Jess says that the financial support given by the Trust helped enormously throughout her degree, and enabled her to study at a pace she was comfortable with while she adjusted to life on the outside and keeping her goals on track.

Jess says that completing her degree in Education and Criminology and realising her potential, came as a big shock to her.  But to anyone who had followed her journey, this achievement was testament to her courage, strength and resilience to push herself to be the best that she could.

She has since been able to pursue her passion and dream of working toward creating better outcomes for people within the criminal justice system, including curating the Just Speak/Korero Pono multi-media exhibition, which gave voice to the personal experiences of those who have experienced prison, and working as a researcher on the AUT project He Ture Kia Tika/Let the Law be Right, which aims to develop a solution-focused framework to improve outcomes for whānau who experience mental distress and/or addictions while in the criminal justice system.  She is now bringing valuable insight and empathy to her current role with Specialist Reports, writing cultural reports for people on remand and bail to assist the Court to make decisions affecting outcomes in sentencing, focusing on the importance of having all information about a person’s backstory before the presiding Judge.

Education has played a big role in Jess’s transformation and she is a shining example that it is never too late to make a change, start again or pick up where you left off.  Jess’s advice to other women in her situation is to follow your dreams and passions, and to be inspired by others doing the same – anything is possible with the right support and when you put your mind to it.

*Due to the sensitive nature of her work, Jess has asked us not to use her surname

Winners’ Announcement

August 10, 2021

Winning Entries – Judges Comments

1st – Gurmehar Bajwa
Ormiston Senior College
Poem; ’Mudita’

This was a standout entry to our judges.  They loved the subject matter, and were impressed by the clever use of imagery and rhyming.  While being emotionally driven, it was formally well-structured and displayed a high level of empathy and maturity.

2nd – Hannah Thompson
Botany Downs Secondary College
Artwork; ‘Childhood Imagination‘

The judges thought this was a clever idea, and the interplay of inside and outside space was well executed.  They were impressed by the artistic skill and application of the paint, as well as the resulting sense of childhood imagination and joy.

3rd – Esther Oh
Diocesan School for Girls
Prose; ‘The Violin’

The judges loved this entry. They felt it was thought-provoking, beautifully written and constructed, with great use of descriptive language and a clever ending that tied in perfectly with the theme.

4th Highly Commended – Dina Aziz
Carmel College
Artwork; ‘Three as One’

The judges thought this entry was a lovely idea, well-considered with strong composition, good skill and use of colour. They felt it related well to the theme portraying the love and security of family as a thing of joy. For further information, please contact:

Nina Tomaszyk | General Manager | Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust

Phone: 09-358-1044 | Email: nina.tomaszyk@kateedgertrust.org.nz. The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust (KEECT) supports the promotion, advancement and encouragement of women within education, whether it be for research and professional activities, or for artistic and creative activities. The KEECT is one of the biggest supporters of women’s tertiary education in New Zealand, providing financial assistance of approximately $600,000 to over 100 women annually. Funding primarily comes from the proceeds from Academic Dress Hire, as well as generous private individualsand partner sponsors.

Isha Davies – Michael Park School

August 7, 2021

Porcelain Skin 

I could admire you forever
Running my hands down your skin
Through your hair
Tracing your tattoos
Everything about you is a work of art.
We’ve found a new way
A kind of New York movie romance
Its as if you’re undressing me with your eyes
And pulling me in through your smile
For it’s not all tangled and messy
Nor a delusion of happiness
I see pure love and joy within your glances
It’s as if everything you feel is what I feel
Like we’re interlinked
We talk for hours and hours
Our souls mixing and binding together
You saved me
Pulled me back to life
I could never bear to hurt you.
As porcelain hits the ground it chips into a million pieces;
And once broken
it’s almost impossible to fix.
I could never break your porcelain skin
Nor would i ever want to
I found a light in you
And i hope for the life of me it never fades
only remaining besmirched on me like a coffee stain
at the bottom of a porcelain tea cup.

Isha Davies
Michael Park School

Henry Ludbrook – Kerikeri High School

The Tree

After a sudden death in the family, we drove up to our lake house. Shortly after the arrival I found myself on  boat, which is odd because I am not a boat head, I am however a good sport.

Not long after the boat trip began is when I saw it, a  beautiful tree. It was an old red spruce, stick straight, standing alone near the water. Leaning at a beautiful, melancholy angle.

I ventured round the lake to the tree daily, during our stay.  In the morning and evening. It always looked perfect, like a tree a child might draw. Its shaded-out branches, now dead, were still hanging there like memories.

During my trips to the tree, as I stared at it, amid grief it seemed to say something specific: growing old can be frightening. But age can be marvelous.

On my final trip to the tree as I walked along the pebble shore, I looked at several trees surrounding the tree and saw they were dying to. Although none were as beautiful as the old spruce, it brought me joy knowing he hadn’t aged alone. I walked back to the house in peace knowing,  I wasn’t alone in my grief either.

 

Henry Ludbrook
Kerikeri High School

Mackenzie McElroy – Baradene College of the Sacred Heart

What brings me joy

Joy, what is joy, joy is a feeling happiness, compassion, love and warmth. Joy can’t be situated into one thing, because it isn’t one thing. Joy is a place, a place where you feel safe, joy is home. Home not just being a building with windows and walls, but home being the people who surround us, the people we choose to talk to, the people we choose to laugh and cry with. These people are our home. Home is the warm feeling that wraps around us, it’s the smile lines adjacent to our eyes, home is in people, our joy is in others. We find ourselves in others, we see the similarity between each-others humour, each-other’s eyes and smile. We see each-other in each-other, we see our joy in our homes, we see our homes in our people. Joy isn’t always a feeling of happiness though, it’s a feeling of warmth on a cold winters day, joy is the feeling of arms wrapping around the small of your back from the person you love. Joy is comfort, safety, trust. My home brings me joy.

 

Mackenzie McElroy
Baradene College of the Sacred Heart

Note from the author: Home is the warm feeling that wraps around us, it’s the smile lines adjacent to our eyes, home is in people, our joy is in others.