Hastings student gets $25k grant to help pursue Ivy League college dream

Karamu High School head student Lena Ormsby has received a boost to help her get into a top university overseas.

Lena Ormsby is a young wahine on a mission.

The Karamu High School head student has aspirations of studying law and commerce at a top university overseas - specifically an Ivy League college in the US, or Oxford and Cambridge in the UK.

Her goal has been given a major boost after receiving a $25,000 grant through Crimson Education.

Crimson Education will help her navigate the competitive application process and cover any costs related to the admission process.

“I’m honoured to be able to have that opportunity available to me, and to learn about the possibilities [to study] overseas,” she said, of the $25,000 Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship.

She said she wanted to be an example for other rangatahi (young people) to show them what was possible and let them know the opportunities available to them.

Lena, 17, who is of Ngāpuhi descent, has lived in Hastings since she was 12 and has an impressive CV for a teenager.

She is one of just eight young leaders on Parliament’s youth reference group, has chaired the Hastings Youth Council, and is a debating champion.

Her top subject is history but she wants to pursue law and commerce in the future.

“I really love history and law comes with that, learning about the country and the background of our people, but also ... it is a good foundation.

“Both of those subjects enable me to go off in so many different pathways in life which is the goal really, to not narrow myself but to take all these opportunities.”

Lena knows she will need to keep up her excellent academic results for the rest of Year 13 as she prepares her college applications.

The $25,000 Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship grants were given out to five Māori high school students around the country. Lena was the only one in Hawke’s Bay.

Lena shares the same last name as Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chairwoman Hinewai Ormsby but they are not direct relatives.