Half a million bucks for a first-year university student would warrant an extra packet of instant noodles.
But for last year’s Nelson College head student and dux Oliver Morton, the eye-watering amount is another stripe in his awe-inspiring education record.
The now University of Canterbury (UC) engineering student was “beyond excited” to acquire the acclaimed Robertson Scholarship for study in the United States to the tune of around NZD 500,000.
The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program is a merit-based scholarship at Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and its American philanthropist co-founder Julian Robertson generously awards one to a New Zealand undergraduate each year.
It covers travel, study and living costs, as well as summer and study abroad programmes for up to four years, which is how long Oliver will be based in America’s Tar Heel State.
“I’m really grateful they’ve selected me, but I know there would have been many worthy candidates, so I’m just happy that the ball rolled in my direction this time,” he says.
“One of my reasons for applying was being able to make the most of a broad education, and alongside that, I’m interested in developing my leadership skills throughout my time as an undergraduate.
“It’s not just a fantastic opportunity to study at two of the top universities in the world, but I’m able to immerse myself in the summer programmes, the study abroad programmes, and the leadership development that the scholarship offers.”
The 18-year-old says, after being awarded the scholarship in late March following a meticulous eight-month application process he was flown to the USA to meet with the other recipients.
“I was really grateful to meet a group of people who are like-minded, who want to make a positive difference in the world, and who were just really excited about getting involved with university life.”
Oliver’s university programmes in the USA begin in August, and he’ll jet off after his first semester at UC concludes in June, pending current course results, cross credits for future qualifications in the USA will be applied.
“I’m going to be studying a liberal arts system for the first year, so I get more time to figure out what I’m really interested in, but I intend to study something to do with engineering and science and then hopefully apply that to aerospace or environmental science.”
