Testimonials

“As a woman who has grown up in a low income environment I have always struggled to succeed and equal my peers.  I work consistently to ensure that I am completing everything to the best of my ability, but unfortunately without access to the appropriate resources I am often unable to complete many tasks that are needed of me. The additional stress of having to worry about whether or not I will be able to make it through another year has impacted me more than I would like to admit and had made any hope of a future in academia seem unattainable, but your contribution and support has provided me with the confidence that it is attainable and I am forever grateful for this.”

– Chelsie | Bachelor with Honours Award

“This award allows me and my whanau to have some ‘financial freedom’, as my parents financially support me throughout my studies.  However, being awarded this scholarship allows them to stress less about my finances and focus on themselves and pay off their debt, which they deserve as they are such hard workers.
Overall, this scholarship gives me the resources to pursue my studies with less financial stress and focuses on my goal to get into Medicine and work with my Maori Whanau/ community.”

– Makayla | Foundation Award

“These past few weeks, I’ve been having a hard time, primarily because of my daughters teething destroying my sleep cycle, but I started to lose faith in myself to a degree. My grades were great, but in terms of self-efficacy, I just felt down. But receiving that email last week telling me I won this scholarship has been a much-needed reminder of my achievements.
Just knowing that someone out there thinks that the effort I’ve been putting into my schoolwork is worth investing so much money into, brought me to tears and has given me an intense boost in morale just in time for exams.  The first thing I plan to buy is a new pair of glasses with the correct prescription”.

– Shani  | Foundation Award

“I am currently studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honors) First year, hoping to get offered an entry into the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 2022. Since I was a child, my goal in life has been to become a doctor and give back to my community in my hometown Kawerau, and your generosity has increased my chances of making this goal come true”.

– Taryn | Bachelor with Honours Award

“Undertaking a PhD was a lifechanging decision for me and my family and your support and contribution means so much to us.
Thank you for this opportunity and vote of confidence in me and in my mahi (work). Thank you for enabling me to work in this brave field and to give voice to stories that need to be told.
The aim of my research is to contribute to dismantling active silencing of FCSA in whānau and wider society, particularly for Māori whānau and our communities. I aspire for this mahi to provide a source of hope, insight and mana for those tamariki (children), patunga (victims) and mōrehurehu (survivors) who walk behind us”.

– Nicola | First Year Doctoral Award

“My journey has been anything but easy, but receiving this award makes every bit of success even sweeter.
In the past year, I have struggled to gain funding to pay for my school fees, living situation and financially support my family. This was very discouraging for me and it became difficult to focus on my studies. Upon receiving news of receiving this award, I felt a tremendous huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
I aspire to work for the Ministry of Health as a policy analyst and later a University lecturer. My passion is vested in my PhD, which aims to find Pacific centred ways to improve primary health care access in the New Zealand Auckland region”.

– Manusiu he-Naua | First Year Doctoral Award

“I feel so privileged to be a recipient of this award – one that honours wāhine who strive for academic merit and have aspirations for the future.   Fundamentally, I believe this award truly celebrates and empowers women who may be set back because of special circumstances, but deserve the opportunity to succeed at life.
I cannot express how much I appreciate the financial aid this scholarship is providing me, given my family circumstances, in relieving a huge burden”.

– Shaanil | Bachelor with Honours Award

“This award was truly helpful in improving the quality of living for me and my younger brother. This award contributed to our living expenses and took the pressure off us both having to work as much during the academic year. This allowed both of us to focus more on our studies.
I plan to specialise in health care and life sciences consulting as I progress through my career, with the ultimate goal of improving accessibility and efficiency of health care services”.

– Katia | Vinka Marinovich Engineering Award

“During my undergraduate degree I worked 2 or 3 days a week so it was very stressful trying to balance my academic and work life in order to support myself but also to achieve high academic results. The Kate Edger scholarship allowed me to put all my focus on my studies this year which reflected in my results.
Forensic Science has been my dream for over 10 years and thanks to Kate Edger Education Charitable Trust I was able to follow my passion without the financial burden.”

– Diana | Post Graduate Diploma Award

“This was a wonderful help in taking some of life’s stresses out of the equation in order to direct more of my focus on my studies and this definitely showed through in my results for the semester.”

– Natasha | Tress Thomas Retraining Award

“The award contributed greatly towards transportation costs. I have to catch two buses to get to university and two buses back home, so it took away the stress of worrying how I would be getting to school each day. It also paid for a lot of my course books and text books.  The generosity you have shown me will not be forgotten.

– Rachel  | Foundation Award

“As a solo mother studying full time for a Bachelor of Nursing, this award helped me so much with paying bills and fixing my car. It helped to relieve a lot of financial stress.  I thank you all for that, words cannot express how much I appreciated every penny. ”

– Tania | Tressa Thomas Retraining Award

“This award helped to ensure that my education and research could be my main focus without the stress of the financing of post-graduate study.  I would like to thank the Trust for supporting women through academia and higher education, especially in STEM subjects where women are still a minority.”

– Veronica | Bachelors with Honours Degree Award

“Receiving this award gave me both practical assistance with after school and school holiday childcare, and removed the need to work part time – 2 factors that have caused me stress in the past, while I have studied.  As such, I believe that an overarching benefit arising out of the Award, was the improvement of my wellbeing.  Essentially, I found that I was able to embark on writing and research unencumbered by the worry often associated with finances and time constraints (due to employment and caring for the children).”

– Veronica | First year Doctoral Award

“With the Pandemic affecting employment, study and other aspects of my life, this award took a huge load off what was a stressful year studying from home/remotely by providing financial relief during this time. I was able to continue studying where a lot of my peers had to go and look for odd jobs due to loss of income in their household”.
– Masters Degree Awardee

“The confidence that I have gained from receiving an award like this is invaluable. In the challenging and high-pressure environment of University, I have found that my confidence in myself and my abilities has diminished greatly.  This award has motivated me to continue trying to better myself and for this I really do thank you”.

– Samantha | Bachelor with Honours Award

“I am a final year PhD student at the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland, conducting a research study in the field of neurodegeneration and dementia. During the final months of my doctoral study, I have been struggling financially due to stresses created by the COVID-19 outbreak and limited funding support.
The award truly alleviates all of my financial burden and allows me to completely focus on (my studies).  It has also motivated me to strive for excellence in my final stage”.

– SooHyun | Dame Dorothy Winstone Doctoral Completion Award

“Receiving this scholarship means I will now be able to focus more on completing Honours to the highest standard I am able and can spend the hours I would normally have to work part-time applying myself to my studies.  This award allows me to concentrate more on learning and improving my practice as a training social worker. I hope Kate Edger, as a social worker herself, would approve! ”

– Kendra | Bachelor with Honours Award

“As the Doctorate of Clinical Psychology programme is fulltime, involving practical placements and a written thesis, I was required to give up my employment, and have been under financial pressure since the beginning of the year.  To receive this award is a privilege and an honour, and will have a significant impact on my life.
The aim of my research is to meet the rapidly changing needs of youth in New Zealand, address their mental health needs, and work against the alarming rates of suicide in our country.”

– Elizabeth | First Year Doctoral Award

“This award means a lot to me due to myself being the first in my family to receive an award and in doing so, I have made my family very proud. The award does not only affect myself but it also reflects the hard work my family has put in, they are also very appreciative and humbled.
This award has inspired me to aim high and achieve my goals at the highest with a lot of hard work and perseverance.”

– Keisha-Lee | Foundation Award

“I would like to express how thankful I am that your charity has believed in me and my ability to do well and achieve the goals that I set out to achieve. Being a woman in society unfortunately comes with added worries, and often I can personally feel like I am of less importance, but your kind support has opened my eyes to see that I have the support I need to succeed and be whoever I want to be”.

– Casey | Foundation Award

“Being granted this award is an affirmation that I made the right decision to pursue tertiary education in order to advance in my career prospects.  I was on the verge of giving up due to the financial pressure of raising a young family alone on a student benefit.  I recently had my bag stolen with all my textbooks inside, and my laptop broke.  This award will help me to replace my textbooks and the laptop before exams.  It will also cover the cost of wifi at home so my children and I can access materials online for our school work.
Thanks you so much for your generous contribution towards my studies….. I am very grateful for your assistance”.

– Saraiatea | Foundation Award

“I am so honoured to receive this award.  Throughout my degree, I have supported myself entirely. I have worked multiple jobs and sometimes struggled to keep balance in my life. This award gives me the freedom to focus on my studies and continue employment that is relevant to my Social Work degree.
I am currently a support worker for vulnerable children who are in foster care, but the work is casual. Thank you for making it possible for me to carry on working with these wonderful and misunderstood children, I learn as much from them as they do from me.”

– Nika | Bachelor with Honours Award

“I will be the first in my family to graduate and I am proud to have also been awarded the Dean’s award as a high achieving pacific student in my course.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the Kate edger Trust award, it has helped me to concentrate on my studies especially when year 3 was a very challenging year. It took some of the financial burden off my back and gave a sense of empowerment”.

– Jane | Tressa Thomas Retraining Award

“The last year has been really tough financially and emotionally. My mother in law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer of 4th stage (back in India), so being the elder son, my husband has to support her financially. That caused a big disturbance in our already tight budget. This award was not only a financial support but also an emotional support.  I am thankful to the trust for granting me that scholarship which had saved my year and helped me to fight for my dream.  I achieved good grades that made me and my family proud.”

– Maya | Tressa Thomas Retraining Award

This award is helpful to women who study at later ages. Particularly, women with young children often have difficulty in financially supporting ourselves, this award provides us with strong encouragement and financial support at the same time. Thank you”.

– Suzi | Tressa Thomas Retraining Award

“It is extremely difficult in your 40’s to take the plunge and start a new degree so that you can embark on a career path that is rewarding for yourself and for the women and whanau impacted by your work.  I felt blessed to be a recipient of this award and would like to thank the trust for this commitment to women.”

– Tari  | Tressa Thomas Retraining Award

“Being a recipient of the award has boosted my confidence in my abilities. I feel if I can gain this achievement, I am capable of many other prospects.  It eased the financial weight and gave me the ability to stride on in my studies with determination and focus”.

– Lynda | Tressa Thomas retraining Award

“Just the other day I was thinking about the Elam grad show and how I would not have been able to make that work without the support of the Trust. Everything that has happened since has been because of that show so it really has been a life-changing gift that the Trust gave me:) That award was the boost I needed to get going. Thankyou very much, I am very grateful.”

– Amanda