Sun 5 Mar 2017 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Two young change-makers will receive a help with the costs of tertiary study thanks to RainbowYOUTH and ASB. Kassie Hartendorp and Mathew Minnear are this year’s Tertiary Scholarship recipients and have each been awarded a total of $2500 towards costs associated with their study. Scholarship recipient Kassie Hartendorp Based in Wellington, Hartendorp is a youth worker who has been volunteering in the sexuality and gender diverse community for seven years. Recently Hartendorp has been focused on addressing the gaps in support for Māori and Pacifica sexuality and gender diverse people and studies a Diploma in Mātauranga Māori (Indigenous Knowledges) at Te Wānanga Raukawa. Harentdorp hopes to “benefit both my hapū and general takatāpui communities through this journey”. Minnear is also based in Wellington and is studying a Bachelor of Counselling at WelTec. Over the past year and a half he has focused his volunteering with School’s Out, working to support queer and gender diverse people as well as organise events and creating a safe and affirming space. Scholarship recipient Mathew Minnear He intends to continue his studies, with a hope that, “my experience may provide solace for young people that are struggling with their gender and/or sexual identity”. This is the second time the scholarships have been awarded and Duncan Matthews, Executive Director of RainbowYOUTH says “There are so many smart, motivated young people out there working hard to make the world a better place. All the applicants for this round were exceptional in their areas of study, their volunteering work, and how these overlapped in support of rainbow people. I enjoyed leaning about each of the applicants, and wish them good luck with their future.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 5th March 2017 - 5:34pm