DV Bryant Trust Scholarship the key for Chris

31 May 2016

DV Bryant Trust Scholarship the key for Chris

When University of Waikato graduate Chris Beckham took to the stage at graduation in April to deliver the student address, you would never have known he grew up in a town where, for many people, university wasn’t seen as an option.

“I came from a low-decile secondary school, and a lot of my peers believed that university wasn’t for them because they didn’t think they were smart enough,” says Chris.

By the end of Year 13, Chris had applied for as many scholarships as he was eligible for at the University of Waikato. He received several, but says the one that made a huge difference to starting university successfully was the DV Bryant Trust Residential Scholarship, an award which helps pay for the first year of accommodation in the Halls of Residence.

Worth up to $7000, the scholarship is designed to assist those who have proven academic potential – like Chris – but whose financial circumstances are constrained.

Combined with the Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship for achieving excellence in NCEA Level 3, Chris was able to pay for his Halls accommodation.

“I still remember the first day I moved into the Halls. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I realised we were all in the same position: leaving home for the first time and moving into this exciting new stage of life,” says Chris.

“I met my future flatmates in the Halls – we all went flatting together for the remainder of our degree and I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of mates to get through uni with.”

From the Far North town of Taipa, Chris says there’s a misconception that you have to be a genius to go to university.

“What’s more important is being a hard worker. University is not this intimidating environment designed to ‘catch you out’ – your lecturers and professors genuinely want you to succeed, they want to see you learn and improve,” he says.

Chris says he spoke with student recruitment advisers from Waikato when they visited his school, “and I spent a lot of time on the web looking at the scholarships and programmes offered”.

At the end of his first year Chris was named Bryant Hall’s Academic Resident of the Year and Top of School for the Faculty of Computing and Mathematical Sciences. By the end of his studies he had received scholarships totalling more than $28,000.

Chris graduated from the University of Waikato in April with a Bachelor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences with first class honours. He was recommended by his Faculty to be his graduation ceremony’s student speaker – a task given to a student who has excelled academically and contributed to the culture of their Faculty. He’s now studying for a Master of Computer Science at Université de Montréal in Quebec.

Applications for the 2017 D.V. Bryant Trust residential scholarship, and other University of Waikato school-leaver scholarships, close 31 August.

For more information on the Vice-Chancellor’s Academic Excellence School Leaver Scholarship and the University of Waikato Academic Merit School Leaver Scholarship, head to the scholarships website.

ENDS

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