Yvonne Smith Charitable Trust Press Release September 2011

Future looks bright for $50,000 scholarship winners

A New Zealand scholarship is defying the recession and calling for applicants for its $50,000 annual scholarship.

The Yvonne Smith Charitable Trust awards one scholarship annually for a woman embarking on post-graduate studies with preference given to studies in business, political science, economics or law.

2011 scholarship winner Divya Dhar has just begun a joint Masters in Public Policy and Business Administration at Harvard University.  Divya's background as a doctor at Middlemore Hospital, and commitment to the community greatly impressed the selection committee, along with her goal to develop and lead public-private health partnerships that will impact health outcomes in New Zealand and globally.

The calibre of applications last year was so high the Trustees also awarded two grants, one to Nicole Leslie, studying a Masters in International Law at the University of Oxford, and the other to Alexis Rider, studying a Masters in Arts in Migration Studies at the New School for Social Research in New York.

The scholarship was set up in 1999 by New Zealander Yvonne Smith, a woman who understands that the way through hardship is education. Mrs Smith says  "I admire the way New Zealand woman can hold their own with other leaders on the world stage and I want to foster the education of the next generation of woman leaders".

Visit ‘Yvonne Smith Charitable Trust’ Facebook page for updates and discussions.

Applications for 2012 scholarship are now closed.