Destined to make a difference

18 March 2016

Destined to make a difference

Seventeen-year-old Callum Parker from Karori has been awarded the prestigious Sir Douglas Myers Scholarship which will enable him to study at Gonville and Caius College at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Callum, who studied at Wellington College for the past 5 years, has been described by school staff as “destined to make a difference”. Last year he was Proxime Accessit to Dux; placed first in Accounting and Economics; 1st equal in Mathematics with Statistics; won Victoria University of Wellington’s Annual Maths Challenge and gained Distinction in the Australian Mathematics Competition. Callum was one of New Zealand's Outstanding Scholars in the NZQA Scholarship exams.

Outside the classroom he was a College Prefect, Peer Support Leader, Vice-Captain of the College 1st XI Football team and Assistant Coach of the 15th grade Football team. He was co-organiser of the school’s World Vision Runathon which raised over $50,000, and volunteered in the school’s Soup Kitchen, as a tutor for the Homework Club and Maths Clinic.

At Cambridge, Callum will study a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and is interested in continuing on to complete a Masters in Finance and Economics. He plans to pursue a high level business career and to advise other organisations on sustainable business practices.

Callum is an admirer of “The B Team”, an international community of leaders including Sir Richard Branson, Mary Robinson and Arianna Huffington, who believe global leaders need to come together to advance the wellbeing of people and the planet. He proposes to be an advocate for The B Team’s principles and mission in New Zealand.

He says, “I have grown up to appreciate and admire the outdoors and all the opportunities on offer from tramping, camping, rafting and skiing. Throughout my career I will be advocating for a minimal carbon footprint to reduce emissions and environmental impact and to ensure the environment is protected for future generations to enjoy. Also given that our highly important tourism relies on our clean, green image, it is essential that businesses invest in practices that regenerate and sustain the environment".

He also would like to advise on introducing a living wage and developing and implementing social and environmental performance targets and metrics into compensation systems to drive this shift.

In announcing the award, John Taylor, Chair of the Myers Scholarship Selection Committee said, “We are delighted to award this scholarship to Callum. Not only has he distinguished himself academically at school, he has also generously given his time to support others in his school, community and internationally. We see that Callum has a bright future and the potential to become a leader in his chosen field to the benefit of New Zealand and New Zealanders.”

The scholarship is provided by Sir Douglas Myers, a well-known businessman and former leader in the brewing industry. Sir Douglas graduated with a BA in History from Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge. He is a significant supporter of education, business, sport and the arts, and enjoys finding ways to create opportunities to encourage people to succeed.

The scholarship provides tuition and college fees and a living allowance and is worth approximately £34,000 or NZ$72,000 per annum.

Universities New Zealand, formerly the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, administers this scholarship in addition to around 40 other undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships. Applications for the 2017 Sir Douglas Myers Scholarship close on 1 December.

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