The Braemar Charitable Trust has great pleasure in announcing the final recipient of a University of Waikato Braemar Charitable Trust Scholarship for 2024. Mya Murray from Tokoroa, is currently in her second year of studying a Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Waikato.
Mya described her passion for working in the health sector and in particular for wanting to pursue a career in Nursing, "comes from seeing the repercussions an inequitable healthcare system has on Whānau and communities across the country". Mya described how she feels " it is unfair that quality healthcare has become so hard to access, and I will not sit back and watch our whānau suffer". Trust Manager Paula Baker said, "it is this heartfelt passion and desire to improve the health and wellbeing of others, that attracted the attention of the panel when we were reviewing the scholarship applications. Given Mya is from Tokoroa, we knew that Mya would have a deep understanding of the health needs of her community and would understand some of the geographical barriers and challenges faced to accessing healthcare".
As Mya is still progressing through her second year, Mya said she is not "100% sure what field of nursing I want to go into when I graduate. However, I know that I want to work with a community-based organisation that focuses on advocating for those who are underrepresented within the healthcare system". In addition to $10,000, the Braemar Scholarship in Nursing offers 4 weeks of paid placement in a healthcare setting of the scholarship recipients' choice-this could be at Braemar Hospital, with one of our community partners or a combination of both. Trust Manager Paula Baker said, "our work placement provides students with a unique opportunity to work in a private hospital or community-based setting depending on the student's area of interest. This complements the experience they have on placement in the public hospital. Last year students' chose work placements with the Braemar hospital cardio and theatre teams and with Raukura Hauora o Tainui and the Ngāti Maniapoto Marae Pact Trust. I am really looking forward to working with Mya this year to develop an interesting and rewarding work placement experience".
It is heartwarming to know that Mya's "overall goal is to return home and give back to the community that shaped me into the person I am today, and make my mum proud ❤️" We are very blessed to have Mya as part of the Braemar family and know Mya will make a significant contribution to her community in the future.
