Margaret Hetley Scholarship winner Jasmine James has a very particular reason for wanting to pursue a career in special education.
The scholarship, which is awarded annually and helps offset an EIT student's tuition fees, commemorates Margaret Hetley, who gifted land at Ōtātara in Taradale to the people of Hawke's Bay for a campus.
Jasmine said she was "over the moon" to have been singled out for this year's honour.
A first-year Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) student, she's the mother of four children, including a three-year-old living with autism spectrum disorder.
Leaning how to communicate with a youngster who struggles with verbal language has spurred her interest in helping children with special needs.
Through her father, Jasmine is Ngāti Kahu, an iwi of Northland.