An Auckland University of Technology (AUT) student is one of the first recipients of a new Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) scholarship to help students of Pacific heritage with their accounting studies.
Jacqueline Tailela, from Auckland, is starting her final year studying for a Bachelor of Business, double majoring in Accounting and Finance.
“I have come across a lot of Pasifika students who dropped out of universities due to high course fees, and other university costs,” Jacqueline says. “These unaffordable fees have crushed their dreams, and also the opportunity to help our Pasifika families and our communities.”
Jacqueline is one of three accounting students of Pacific heritage – one each from Samoa, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand –to receive the new CA ANZ scholarships to help them with their accounting studies.
The two new scholarships are for Pacific students studying towards undergraduate degree in accounting. One is for tertiary students of Pacific heritage studying in New Zealand and the other – shared this year by students from Samoa and Papua New Guinea – for tertiary students of Pacific heritage studying in the Pacific Islands.
“The vision behind the scholarships is to help increase the number of accountants of Pacific heritage,” said Peter Vial, Chartered Accountants ANZ’s Group Executive New Zealand and the Pacific.
“The Pacific community is under represented in our membership. There are vibrant Pasifika accounting communities in the Pacific, and in New Zealand, but in too many instances these communities do not fully reflect the broader communities in which they work and live. These new scholarships aim to help bridge those gaps.”
Jacqueline says her scholarship is important because it will play a huge part in funding her studies for her last year. “I have moved from home to seek for the best, thus there should be no boundaries from achieving my dream [of] becoming a Chartered Accountant.”
The Pacific Scholarship for students studying in the Pacific Islands is shared between Elmit Champi from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and Elizabeth Tinei from Apia in Samoa.
Source: Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
