Auckland, 23 Nov. – Last night, AMP New Zealand hosted their 15th annual AMP Scholarships – National Awards Dinner, announcing the 14 recipients at a black-tie event at Auckland Museum. The New Zealand Governor-General, Lt Gen TheRt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, presented the highly anticipated awards – recognizing Kiwi talent from all walks of life. The largest scholarship was awarded to Dr Andrew McDaid, he has developed a robotic device to enable stroke patients to re-learn to walk. With an incredible passion to use engineering to enhance the rehabilitation process of injured patients, Andrew’s goal is to use robotics to support their mobility and independence. Andrew has a Bachelor in Engineering and a PHD in Mechatronics, and at the youthful age of 26 he has demonstrated a successful, strong career ahead of him.
Over $1.5 million in AMP Scholarships have been awarded to outstanding New Zealanders since 1998. These Scholarships have enabled more than 130 Kiwis to ‘do their thing’ within their fields of interest.
Blair Vernon, AMP General Manager – Marketing and Customer Sales, is highly impressed with both the ingenuity and calibre of this year’s applicants. I’m blown away by the exceptional response this year. It is truly amazing and inspiring to see the incredible things that Kiwis are achieving right here in New Zealand and around the world. We’ve had an overwhelming number of applications ranging from those involved in forward-thinking social change projects through to scientific research, sports and everything in between. “The benchmark has been set extremely high for next year’s AMP Scholarships, and it’s great to see such passion and commitment from these amazing recipients,” he concludes.
The recipients of the AMP National Scholarships are:
Chase Douglas, Dr Andrew McDaid, Brittany Robertson, Sarah Clifford, Tom Brookman, Maya Shino, More Follows, Juliet Arnott, Carl Murphy, Pauline Herbst, Jacob Smith, Kate Yang and Sam Judd
Back for the second year, the AMP Study Start Scholarship was awarded to Gabriel Callaghan. Recognising talent within AMP, the AMP People Scholarship was awarded to Karen Whittaker from the AMP adviser training team. Karen’s thing is writing science fiction fantasy books, and her goal for 2013 is to distribute her published novel throughout New Zealand. With no restrictions on entering, AMP judges searched the country for Kiwis with passion, determination and a dream. Alongside financial support, each recipient was offered financial and planning advice from an AMP Adviser.
Applications for the AMP Scholarships in 2013 will open in mid-April next year.
AMP Scholarships include four scholarship categories:
• AMP National Scholarships – Open to all NZ citizens or permanent residents who are committed to achieving their dream
• Adviser Business Scholarships – 12 adviser businesses across the country offered more than $100,000 in scholarship funds, awarding their Scholarships throughout October.
• AMP Study Start Scholarship – $15,000 for one Year 12 or 13 student, to be used towards their tertiary studies
• People’s Choice Scholarship – a $10,000 Scholarship as voted on facebook.com/AMPDoYourThing throughout September this year.
