Chhavi Breja, a student of psychology, based in Papakura (Photo: Supplied)

Kiwi Indian student awarded Youth Scholarship in Papakura

Thursday, December 19, 2019 Rizwan Mohammad

Chhavi Breja, a student of psychology, based in Papakura, is one of sixteen students to be awarded Local Board Youth Scholarship from Papakura.

Sixteen students were awarded scholarships in different areas of the academic pursuits and trade careers, the total of which amounted more than $26,000.

Kiwi Indian student Chhavi Breja recently completed Bachelor of Science from the University of Auckland majoring in Psychology. Ms Breja found about the scholarship through Papakura Local Board’s online promotion and her work with the Papakura Youth Council earlier this year.

The scholarship is for rangatahi (those aged 25 and under) who live in the Papakura Local Board Area and are wanting to gain funding for tertiary study, vocational pursuits, trades, or conferences/ training programmes.

Applicants were also expected to show some level of community involvement and write about how they could use the scholarship to further themselves and give back to their community. Ms Breja received a $1000 scholarship that was announced on Tuesday, December 17.

“From a young age I have always been interested in the function of the brain, as well as our behaviour, development, and culture, and psychology is a discipline which combines all of these topics.

“I will put the scholarship towards further university study in 2020 as I embark on the journey to an MSc,” Ms Breja told The Indian Weekender.

Ms Breja aims to use her degree to help break the stigma and preconceptions around mental health discussions and also work towards heling and empowering marginalised groups of people.

“There is a lot of potential for inducing positive change in this field, and I am thankful for scholarships such as the Papakura Local Board Youth Scholarship for making it easier to be a part of it,” Ms Breja added.

Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole says he is satisfied to see good applications from young people in trade careers alongside those from academic pursuits.

“This year we have a young man working towards building qualifications at MIT, we have people studying health care and nursing, potential lawyers, a criminology student who is also making classical music, and a Christian studies applicant.

“When we asked our community how it identified itself, one of the four cornerstones our people chose was youth, reflecting how important our young population is. So, we are delighted as a board to be able to help some of our brightest achieve their goals,” Mr Catchpole said.