2013 recipients of EIT Tairāwhiti Year 13 study grant

It’s not just Tihirua Putaka who is benefiting from his EIT Tairāwhiti Year 13 Scholarship.

“It’s helped me and my whanau a whole lot,” says the 19-year-old Toihoukura arts degree student.

And it’s opened up a whole new world for the teenager from Feilding who is now in his second year of study.

“It was a bit of a stuggle financially, but the scholarship has really helped.”

He comes from a large extended whanau – who all lived under one rather “crowded” roof – who are all very proud of his achievements.

While not specialising just yet, he’s inspired to learn ta moko and is currently working on mokopu drawings – the art of sketching drawings. Working under the internationally acclaimed ta moko artist Derek Lardelli is proving a winner.

“I love working with Derek and listening to all the different stories he tells us to do with Tairāwhiti and the whakapapa . . . he’s just an awesome lecturer.”

“This is so much more than what I was expecting,” he says. “It’s good to be away from that whole city life too.”

Year 13 Scholarship students come straight from high school to study degree level papers.

They receive their first year of study for free – saving around $7,000 in course fees alone – and then a 50% discount on their second year.

Current scholarship recipients are working towards degrees in Bachelor of Nursing, Bachelor in Computing Systems, Bachelor of Mäori Visual Arts, Bachelor in Business and Bachelor of Arts – Māori.