Solo dad studying at UCOL's Whanganui campus wins accounting scholarship worth $5000

Aaron McGregor is the recipient of the Ngā Raumanako Māori Scholarship worth $5000. Photo / Stuart Munro

Everything's coming up trumps for Aaron McGregor.

The solo father in his forties was awarded a scholarship by Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CA ANZ) in July and has now won another big award.

McGregor is the recipient of the Ngā Raumanako Māori Scholarship, offered by CA ANZ and Ngā Kaitatau Māori o Aotearoa (NKMoA).

The scholarship is worth $5000, $2500 over two years and is aimed at students of Māori descent studying towards a qualification in accounting.

"To win, they must be able to demonstrate how the scholarship will help achieve their aspirations in accounting and contribute to Māori economic and financial well-being," said CA ANZ Māori sector manager Kateriina Selwyn.

"That's something this year's winner, Aaron McGregor has done."

McGregor (Ngā Rauru, Ngati Raukawa ki te Tonga) is a solo father to three teenagers and became a fulltime student in 2016 after taking redundancy.

He looked at it as a chance for a career reset and enrolled in Whanganui UCOL's New Zealand diploma in business.

He says it was a move that made sense for someone who has always loved maths.

"I'd also always been interested in financial literacy, even as a youngster at school, but I'd drifted into a managerial career."

Maintaining an A+ average throughout the two years of the diploma, McGregor will use the scholarship for further study.

He's also pleased the scholarship includes the opportunity of an internship with one of the Ngā Kaitatau Māori o Aotearoa network partners.

McGregor is seeing more Māori consider accounting as a career.

"My advice is it's not as scary as you might think. It's an evolving profession and an exciting time to get on board, so I say to them, go for it."