Rocket Lab scholarship for Māori health hopeful

Matangirau Whaanga has won a scholarship from Rocket Lab to study health science at Waipapa Taumata Rau.

By James Perry of Whakaata Maori

Matangirau Whaanga is the latest recipient of the annual Rocket Lab scholarship designed to help uri from Māhia, where the space company launches its missions.

Whaanga (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu) is head boy at Napier’s William Colenso College. The $20,000 scholarship will support his goal of becoming a Māori health professional through a bachelor of health sciences degree at Auckland University.

“I’m committed to my studies and to achieving my goals and this scholarship will allow me to do that,” Whaanga said.

The 18-year-old, who will move to Auckland to begin his studies next year, said he became passionate for Māori health after being introduced to the Whakapiki Ake, a Māori recruitment programme that works within a kaupapa Māori framework to support rangatahi Māori enrolled in secondary schools and kura, last year.

“It introduced me to the importance of Maori health. I had already started to take a liking to sciences but this has only just encouraged me.

The Rocket Lab Scholarship, first awarded in 2017, supports and encourages students from the regions that surround the company’s launch site in Mahia to pursue science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) at the tertiary level. It covers tertiary education costs for up to four years of study and includes mentorship from Rocket Lab where applicable.

Older brother an earlier winner

“I’m also very keen to meet the expert scientists at Rocket Lab: a one-on-one mentorship with a scientist who has real-world experience in such an exciting field as rocket science is a rare opportunity,” Whaanga said.

He’s not the first member of his whānau to receive the scholarship. In 2021, older brother, Pikitangarangi Ratapu was awarded it to help with his biology and chemistry studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau, where he still studies and works as a teaching assistant.

Whaanga said his parents are chuffed to have two children at university and recipients of the scholarship.

“I’m just happy that we both get the opportunity to work with Rocket Lab and both have their mentorship, which I’m excited about.

“Watching Piki thrive in university, I can’t help but think Rocket Lab had a big part in that.”

Previous recipients of the scholarship have gone on to studies in health science, engineering, biology and chemistry. Mya Mataki Wilson, who won the scholarship in 2018 recently graduated with a bachelor of engineering from Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland and is employed as a civil engineer on the Te Ahu a Tūranga project in Tararua that will ultimately replace the Manawatū Gorge as the main link between Manawatū and Hawkes Bay.

Women’s scholarship launched

Ivy Doak from Auckland has been awarded the Rocket Lab women’s scholarship to support her pursuit of a mechanical engineering degree through Auckland University to become a spacecraft designer in the aerospace industry.

The Rocket Lab Women’s Scholarship has been recently established to encourage more young women to become leaders in aerospace. It also covers tertiary education costs and includes mentorship from a female Rocket Lab engineer.

Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck said the two winners this year impressed in many ways.

“Matangirau, with his dedication to Māori health and giving back to his community and Ivy, with her palpable enthusiasm for rockets and determination to work in the space industry.

“Our scholarships were created to provide the encouragement to make a difference in the world and help relieve the burden of expensive study, and we’re proud to be enabling that with this year’s two exceptional scholarship recipients.”

Across Rocket Lab’s Scholarships, $150,000 has been dedicated to eight young students studying tertiary degrees in STEM since Rocket Lab began granting scholarships in 2017.