A former Sancta Maria College (SMC) student has received a prestigious scholarship.
Sydney Causer, who graduated in 2021, was recently awarded the Te Pokai Tara Sullivan Scholarship for 2022, which is the one of the few scholarships awarded annually in NZ to students of the Roman Catholic faith who will attend medical school at either the University of Auckland (UoA) or Otago.
“I was super excited to receive the news about my scholarship!” Causer says.
“I’m very grateful to the panel for selecting me as a recipient and them supporting me in my goal of studying medicine and becoming a doctor one day.”
Selection criteria was based on academic achievement, involvement in the church, activities in the community and school, leadership qualities and involvement in cultural and social activities in school and the community.
Causer was the deputy head girl at SMC in 2021.
“She has always been a natural leader and looked after our news centre team for several years,” assistant principal of SMC Ray Green says.
After fulfilling her goal of achieving the maximum rank score in Level 3 NCEA (320 points), Causer is completing her first year in biomedical science at the UoA. She has also taken a course in drama for her general education paper due “to her love of performing arts”.
“It (university) has been off to a great start and I’m so happy to be studying biomed!” Causer says. “I’m absolutely loving everything about it and can’t wait to be on campus in a few weeks.”
As well as being an active volunteer for her local church group at St Mark’s in Pakuranga, Causer volunteers for Logos, a Christian youth organisation that works actively with young people delivering retreats, programmes and formation.
In her free time, Causer enjoys dance and cycling.
