Trust awards $204,000 to 34 Waikato students   12 Dec 2014

Trust awards $204,000 to 34 Waikato students

Scholarships worth $6000 each have been awarded to 34 Waikato secondary school students embarking on a science or teaching degree at the University of Waikato or Wintec.

The David Johnstone Charitable Trust Science and Education Scholarships were established by the late David Johnstone to assist Waikato students beginning tertiary study in the areas of science or teaching.

This is the 19th year the annual scholarships have been awarded and this year’s recipients were acknowledged at an awards ceremony at The Atrium at Wintec in early December.

Scholarships were administered on behalf of the David Johnstone Charitable Trust by Perpetual Guardian; a recent integration of Perpetual Trust and Guardian Trust.

Yunus Hanif, Regional Manager Northern at Perpetual Guardian said “It is a privilege, year on year, to help implement Davids’ vision to see Waikato youth succeed.

“David was born in 1909 to one of the Waikato regions pioneering farming families. The death of his father compelled him to leave secondary school to work on the family farm.

“On account of his reduced schooling, David very much enjoyed seeing youth succeed; particularly academically.

“His generosity in establishing the David Johnstone Charitable Trust has meant that hundreds of Waikato students, today and in the past, have received a helping hand-up in their education,” he said.

Yunus said the trust was originally formed in 1984, while David was still alive. In 1996 the Science and Education Scholarships were established by the trustees.

“David’s farming success was great; however his overarching desire to have had a better education meant he left a sizeable chunk of his estate to form the David Johnstone Charitable Trust.

“In the scholarships’ inaugural year, 20 students each received a $4,000 for their first year of study at the University of Waikato or Wintec. Nearly two decades later, 34 students will receive $6000 each,” he said.

This year’s scholarship recipients represent 21 schools across the wider Waikato region, including Cambridge, Hamilton, Tokoroa, Thames, Matamata, Morrinsville, Te Aroha, Piopio, Te Kauwhata, Te Awamutu.

Since its inception, the trust has awarded $2.4million in scholarships to approximately 460 Waikato students to help them progress their tertiary education.

About Perpetual Guardian
Perpetual Guardian is a result of the recent integration of Perpetual Trust and Guardian Trust. As two of New Zealand's oldest trust businesses, they have over 130 years of experience in providing estate planning options for Kiwis. Perpetual Guardian are specialists in providing Wills, Trusts and Enduring Powers of Attorney.

More about the David Johnstone Charitable Trust Science and Education Scholarships
Student nominations are received from schools within the Trust’s designated distribution area extending from Te Kauwhata in the north to Tokoroa and Taumarunui in the south, east to the Coromandel Peninsula, including Thames, Whitianga, Coromandel, Whangamata and Waihi, and to Raglan in the west; a total of 39 schools. Each school can nominate one student in each of the three study categories - University of Waikato in Science and Teaching, and Waikato Institute of Technology.

ENDS

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