EIT nursing students have excelled with a number of them being awarded scholarships to help them finish their studies through EIT’s School of Nursing.

EIT Bachelor of Nursing programme co-ordinator Kathy Manhire says the six students chosen were all deserving recipients of the scholarships.

“It’s always tough deciding who to award the scholarships to because the people who have gone to the trouble of applying are keen. The standard is always high because we need to respect the scholarships.”

Kathy says she is pleased with the cohort of students across the three years of the programme and the scholarship winners were a reflection of the quality of all the students.

This year four first year students, Kayla Hughes, Liana Spooner, Beryl de Guzman and David England were awarded the Noeileen Isaacs Scholarship, which is administered by the Perpetual Guardian Trust in Napier.

The scholarship, which will pay for their tuition fees for this year, is available to applicants who attended a secondary school in Hawke’s Bay and must have achieved satisfactory academic standards in their secondary school years or have achieved academic requirements in the Certificate in Health Science.

Kayla completed the six-month NZ Certificate in Study and Career Preparation [Level 4] at EIT before enrolling in the Bachelor of Nursing programme in July. The Certificate programme is designed to give people  the skills, capabilities, knowledge and attributes needed to succeed at degree level.

Liana is a mother of four, who was born and bred in Central Hawke’s Bay and attended Central Hawke’s Bay College. David, who also attended Central Hawke’s Bay College, was previously a chef with the Jamie Oliver Fifteen Foundation for troubled youth. He enjoyed mentoring youth so much that he decided to pursue a career in nursing.

Beryl, who is 17-years-old and went to Karamu High School, finished the NZ Certificate in Study and Career Preparation [Level 4] at EIT before starting her current degree. She is originally from the Philippines and was raised by a single mother. She wants to make the most of her opportunities that her mother has given her.

Another Bachelor of Nursing student Alana Taylor is the recipient of the Dianna Lewer Memorial Award for Excellence in Mental Health Nursing 2021.

Dianna Lewer was an EIT Mental Health Nursing lecturer who died in January 2000. A Trust has been established through a generous donation by Dianna’s husband, to enable an annual student award. Other contributions to the Trust fund have come from EIT’s Ōtātara Trust, the central region branch of the Australia and New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses, colleagues and friends.

This award of recognition and $500 is made to an EIT undergraduate, year two or three pre-registration Nursing student who demonstrates excellence both academically and clinically in mental health nursing. However, an overriding criterion is a demonstrated commitment to mental health nursing.

Alana is a mother to three young children aged four, six and eight and previously worked as a freelance hair and makeup artist.

Another scholarship is the United Friendly Society Excellence in Pharmacotherapeutics Award 2021, which is open to Year 2 or Year 3 Bachelor of Nursing degree students.

This year it has been presented to Bhagya Lakshmi Unnikrishnan, who is an international student from India.

Kathy says COVID-19 has made life tougher for nursing students, who have had to adapt quickly.

“They are amazing students. Probably half of our students are people who returned to study, have children and busy and sometimes challenging lives. And on top of that, they had to cope with COVID-19. I take my hat off to them with how they coped because we do need to keep the nurses coming through.“