Scholarships
The Adastra Foundation has been providing scholarships to extraordinary young New Zealanders since 2007. In that time, the Foundation has supported hundreds of athletes and performing artists with more than $2m and dozens of customised mentoring programmes.
In mid-2022, the Board completed a strategic review of its vision and purpose and agreed to refine its priorities. It wanted to ensure that it provided support where it was most needed and to those exceptional young people who might otherwise struggle to achieve their dreams. As such, priority will now be given to exceptional young people who face financial or personal hardship.
Adastra will offer scholarships to extraordinary young athletes and performing artists (dancers and musicians), from Waikato and Bay of Plenty, who are facing hardship in their pursuit of excellence. Our programme includes a cash scholarship and personal development workshops, specifically designed for young adults aiming to be the best they can be – on and off their stage.
A key part of the Adastra ethos is a mentoring programme that includes personal development workshops with leading professionals in their field.
Adastra is grateful to be supported by Grassroots Trust, The Lion Foundation, TECT, The Brian Perry Charitable Trust, Craigs Investment Partners and the Merito & Hill Families.
Sponsored Scholarships
Adastra is delighted to offer sponsored scholarships where recipients are “tagged” with a sponsor.
We are excited to be able to offer Craigs Investment Partners scholarships. Craigs is one of New Zealand’s leading investment advisory firms. Their network of investment advisers are supported by an award winning research team to help clients achieve their investment goals. Achieving goals is important to the team at Craigs Investment Partners and they share that same passion for achieving investment goals with seeing young adults in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty communities achieve their life goals by pushing boundaries on the national and international stage.
We also offer sponsored scholarships with Brian Perry Charitable Trust, BDO, Construction Advantage and the Merito & Hill Families.
The Brian Perry Charitable Trust is part of the Perry Group headed by Simon Perry. It is an integral cog in the Adastra wheel and has supported the programme since it’s inception.
The “Merito & Hill Family” scholarships are offered by Codi Merito, previous NZ representative BMX athlete and one of our Adastra alumni and Britt Hill. These scholarships are offered to 2 recipients who embody the values of Codi and Britt and show promise and drive in their endeavours.
Construction Advantage Limited is a Cambridge based construction company that delivers innovative construction projects, design and build, feasibility studies and management of commercial projects. The director and staff have a keen interest in sport and providing opportunity for a Cambridge recipient through their support of the Adastra programme.
BDO delivers leading accountancy, advisory, tax and assurance services to leading businesses and has offices nationwide. The Tauranga branch of BDO selects and supports a local recipient that aligns with the company values and brand.
Sponsored Scholarships are awarded after the standard application process (i.e. no further specific application is required).
The Sponsored Scholarships come with standard Adastra reporting requirements, plus further responsibilities to the sponsor, such as reasonable personal appearances and performance updates.
Sponsors
The Adastra Foundation acknowledges the support of:
Our Supporters
Meet @ciaranmanningg !Born and raised in Mount Maunganui, currently attending Tauranga Boys College, Ciaran loves swimming and surfing, and lives by the values of resilience, discipline, and enjoyment. His proudest achievements include placing 3rd at the Junior North Island Championships, 4th in the U17 Junior National Championships, and representing New Zealand in the Trans Tasman competition earlier this year.
At age 10, Ciaran aspired to be a top footballer but later found squash in intermediate school and hasn’t looked back since. In the future, he hopes to place within the top 3 at the U19 Junior Nationals and make the NZSS Senior Team. Ciaran lives by the quote, “If you have to do something, you may as well give it 100%,” and he does just that. He’s motivated to keep pushing with his squash and hopes to gain a scholarship to a US university soon to study Physio and improve his world ranking.
Ciaran said, “I applied for the Adastra scholarship to help me attend major tournaments—both nationally and internationally—and further improve my game. I’m also super grateful for the opportunity to work with a sports psychologist, which has helped me further in my sport.”
Ciaran mentioned how he enjoyed the workshops as they were jam-packed with tons of valuable information and said, “I strongly recommend others to apply for this scholarship; it has something to offer for everyone.” As always, a massive thank you to all our funders, especially @tectnz for their continuous support! ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Meet @rubihart_ Born and raised in the atāhua city of Gisborne but has been boarding at Hamilton Girls’ High School since Year 10! She has a huge love for being around Tangaroa and froths a bit of surfing! Rubi values loyalty, leadership, respect, and her three proudest achievements have been taking the risk of moving to Hamilton to further pursue her passion for rugby, captaining her school’s 1st XV for two years, and coming back from injury with the mindset of being better than she was before and even went on to win the recent Chiefs Manawa competition!
When Rubi was 10, her goals were to become a Black Fern, and that is still one of the goals she is working towards right now! She’s excited yet again to lead her team at this year’s Schools National Rugby Championships top 4 with the hope of coming away victorious later in September!
A quote that sticks out for Rubi is “everything happens for a reason”. A cool wee fact that aligns perfectly with this quote is that Rubi had a forced break from rugby due to a nasty collarbone injury, which put her on the sidelines for some time last year but allowed her to discover a passion for photography!
Rubi says she applied for the Adastra scholarship to pursue further opportunities and implement learnings into life and sport! “I am very grateful for the funding and support, and definitely recommend people to apply if they would like further support in personal development.” Rubi would like to thank her mum for all the sacrifices she has made to get her into the position she is in today, and a massive thank you to Adastra for supporting my passions!
📸 @davemills.sportsphotography ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Meet @shyrahtuliau Born and raised in Hamilton, Shyrah attended Hamilton Girls’ High School. As a child, her dream was to become a Silver Fern, but her passion for Rugby blossomed in High School. Currently focused on becoming the best Athlete she can be every day, Shyrah draws motivation from her siblings and the young girls in her community who look up to her! She hopes to excel in either Rugby Union or League and would also love to have the opportunity to give back to her community, particularly supporting underprivileged children who lack the resources she’s been fortunate to access!
Shyrah takes pride in her achievements, notably representing New Zealand at the Global Youth Rugby Sevens Tournament in 2022 and 2023. Honoring her grandfather and father’s sacrifice of migrating from Samoa in search of better opportunities here in Aotearoa.
Shyrah has taken inspiration from a quote shared with her by Rhys from WRU: “Don’t let your sport be the only thing you’re known for; let it be the person that you are inside—your kindness, leadership, or even humor. Because once your time runs out on the field and there’s no rugby left, it’s just you.”
Shyrah said a friend who was an Adastra recipient last year really enjoyed and benefited from the program and encouraged her to apply. The support she has received has really helped her in ways that she didn’t know she needed help with as an Athlete, such as performance psychology. She often finds it hard to tune out all the distractions and deal with pressure while playing Rugby, but with the help from Dom and Erik’s presentation, she’s taken away techniques to help her focus and breathe! The funding from Adastra has not only been helpful for Shyrah as an Athlete but has also been greatly appreciated from a holistic and supportive aspect, as Shyrah comes from a low-income, single-parent family. Shyrah says, “I definitely recommend to everyone out there who has a dream or an ambition to take the chance and apply to Adastra.” Thank you again to all our funders who support each of our recipients!
📸 @rugbystudio - @oneshot_nz ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
With the face-to-face workshops done for 2024, we wish all our recipients a successful and satisfying rest of the year.
Thank you all for embracing the challenges we throw at you including the amazing Sami Conrad & Sylvester Green for your dance and trumpeting expertise. 👌
Go get out there and smash those goals and have fun!!!
We couldn’t offer these opportunities without the incredible support of our funding partners and sponsors.
Thanks a million to:
⭐️ Grassroots Trust
⭐️ The Lion Foundation
⭐️ Brian Perry Charitable Trust
⭐️ TECT
⭐️ Craigs Investment Partners
⭐️ Merito & Hill Family Codi Merito
⭐️ Construction Advantage Limited
⭐️ BDO Tauranga ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Workshop session 2 was Performance Psychology with Dom Vettise and Erik Panzer which developed further skills on understanding and dealing with pressure.
Always insightful and providing a session with learning examples and practical skills to go away with and work on.
We are privileged to access to such knowledgeable presenters for our workshops! ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
First up for our July workshop was an awesome session delivered by @codimerito a member of our Adastra alumni, collaborating with colleague Callum Malcolm from Craigs Investment Partners
Such important skills and lessons to learn on budgeting and showing appreciation to those who support our recipients.
We are incredibly grateful for our ongoing relationship and the time these sponsors put into our programme.
Thank you 🙏 ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Meet @elliott.pugh !! Born in Germany and raised in Tauranga, where he attended Bethlehem College. Elliott’s core values revolve around dedication, discipline, and patience. These values have encouraged Elliott’s progression in his sport which has flowed into his success including a few of his proudest achievements which are placing 4th at the Year 9 Cross Country Nationals, 2nd at the Junior Boys Cross Country Nationals, and taking out the top spot for U18 at the Marra Triathlon back in 2022.
At the age of 10, Elliott’s main goal was to become a professional football player, and currently, his aspirations include winning an NCAA title, representing Aotearoa at the Olympic Games, and pursuing a career as a professional runner!!
Elliott applied for the Adastra Foundation scholarship because he saw it as a valuable opportunity to learn and connect with peers who share similar ambitions!! Elliott said, “He greatly appreciates the support and funding provided by the Adastra Foundation. The assistance I have received has been invaluable, and I would enthusiastically recommend their program to others.” We wish you nothing but the best for your future endeavours, a massive thank you to all our funders, and a special thank you to @tectnz for your support in Elliott and all our Tauranga-based recipients! ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
We remember how your first session of track cycling at the Adastra workshop put a mega-grin on your face Siobhan.
Love that you’ve continued with the challenge and seeing what you’re accomplishing! 🙌 ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Meet @erinwyllie_squash , a talented Squash Athlete hailing from Bath, England, now living in Tauranga where she attends Otumoetai College! Erin holds some incredible values close to her which include gratitude, passion, energy, ambition, and kindness.
Erins proudest achievements include making the “A grade” at just 16, representing New Zealand in the Trans Tasman team, and winning the NZ Secondary Schools Tournament 3 years in a row as well as making it into the NZ secondary schools team who face the aussies every year!
When not on the court, Erin finds peace in watching sunrises and sunsets, especially by the beach or on hikes, where she journals her thoughts and goals. She finds a good balance to ensure Family and Friends are still a priority!
Since age 10, Erin’s goal has been to excel in squash and climb the rankings. Her motivation stems from early morning practices with her dad, instilling a relentless drive to stay ahead in her sport! In five years, she aims to be a top-ranked international player, advocating for Squash globally and pushing hard for a chance to represent Aotearoa in the Commonwealth Games and potentially the Olympics!
Erin lives by the motto, “If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all,” and applied for the Adastra Scholarship to support her journey to major tournaments and enhance her game. Erins says “having this support will definitely benefit my Squash game because it isn’t all about skill and fitness and I am so grateful for all the funding”. As well as @tectnz supporting our Tauranga based recipients, we are delighted to welcome BDO as a new sponsor to our programme this year, who are following Erin’s journey closely. We appreciate your support of our recipients hugely!! ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook