A Mount Maunganui teenager who lost her mother to cancer has been awarded a $30,000 scholarship as she pursues a career inspired by her mother.

Mount Maunganui College graduate Faith Anderson said her mother, Lisa Anderson, died on Christmas Day of 2023 from breast cancer.

“It was her favourite holiday … she was just saying, you know, ‘I have to make it to Christmas’ … and she did."

It was hard to lose her so young.

“It was always like, me and her growing up, so she’s had like a massive influence on every kind of area of my life.

“I’m doing uni and I’m doing it all because of her.”

Anderson is one of three Bay of Plenty first-year university students and 18 nationally who received a Milford Foundation scholarship this year.

The foundation said it provided $10,000 for each year of undergraduate study, along with mentoring and other support, to help reduce inequity in access to tertiary education.

Anderson, 18, said she had just started her three-year Bachelor of Social Science degree at the University of Waikato, majoring in criminology and minoring in forensic psychology.

She said the love of crime shows and books that sparked her interest in this field was heavily influenced by her mother.

“She loved that stuff ... we’d watch them together and then I was always so hooked into figuring it out.”

Anderson said her mother would have been proud she even managed to finish college.

“If I didn’t have all the people around me that I did, and if I didn’t deal with my grief the way that I did, I know I would never have gone back to school, so I would never would have had this opportunity.”

Anderson said she was in disbelief when she found out she received the scholarship. Without it, she could not afford to go to university and she did not want to take out loans.

“This was kind of like a make-or-break thing for me.”

The self-described “homebody” enjoyed sewing, cross-stitch, painting, and reading.

“All of that my Mum taught me.”

Her main career goal was to become a forensic psychologist. She was also interested in victim advocacy work.

Former Te Puke High School student Bella Ngawhika has been awarded a Milford Foundation scholarship. Photo / Supplied

Former Te Puke High School head girl Bella Ngawhika, 18, won a scholarship towards her Bachelor of Environmental Planning studies.

This would go towards her tuition and student accommodation at the University of Waikato in Hamilton.

“It means that I can focus on my studies instead of having to freak out over money … ”

Ngawhika said her goal was to “show rangatahi Māori that we don’t just have to go into kiwifruit or into the meat works or … the workforce”.

“We can go to university; we can go further than just polytech. That university is a space for us, and we can absolutely thrive in it too.”

Former Mount Maunganui College student Alexi Lassey, 18, said she had moved to Dunedin to study a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Otago, majoring in human resource management.

She hoped to eventually work in human resource management for a large company.

Lassey said she was “speechless” when she found out about the scholarship, which would make “a very big difference” financially and with academic support.

‘Nothing short of inspiring’

Mount Maunganui College principal Alastair Sinton said the Milford scholarship had been a “game-changer” for several of its students since its inception.

He said Lassey and Anderson had “incredible potential” and had shown “considerable fortitude throughout their teenage years”.

“Watching Alexi’s academics grow from strength to strength each year has been immensely satisfying, and Faith’s resilience throughout her senior years is nothing short of inspiring.”

A Milford Foundation statement said the scholarships provided financial support to school leavers for whom cost was a barrier to study.

Since launching in 2022, the programme had committed more than $550,000 in scholarship funding and supported 55 students.

Foundation general manager Lucy Doyle said the scholarships were about backing capability and removing financial barriers.

“This year’s cohort is defined by their dedication to learning and their desire to give back to the communities they’re part of.”

“As a country, we need to keep removing barriers to quality education, particularly for those who face hardship in their personal lives.”

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.