Secondary school students within the Waimate and Waitaki Districts have been invited to apply for the Oceania Dairy Scholarship.

The annual scholarship was launched last year and Dion Batchelor, a former Head Boy of Waimate High School, was selected as the inaugural recipient.

The scholarship provides the successful applicant with an annual payment of $3,000 for up to three years, as well as the opportunity for paid work experience during study or training breaks.

Oceania Dairy circulated application forms for the 2016 scholarship to the principals of all schools within the Districts this week.

“The scholarship is an important part of our commitment to the communities in which we operate,” said Roger Usmar, General Manager of Oceania Dairy.

“We are encouraging an organisational culture of investing in people and supporting local communities.

“We can think of no better way of demonstrating that culture by supporting young people as they move from secondary school education to further education or training,” he said.

The Oceania Scholarship is available to young people within the Waimate and Waitaki Districts who are completing their secondary schooling and about to move into further education or training next year.

The scholarship targets education or training that can lead the recipient into a career in the dairy industry or that has the potential to enhance relations between New Zealand and China.

Applications for the 2016 scholarship close on 30 November. The successful applicant will be announced before the end of the year.

2015 scholarship recipient Dion Batchelor is now preparing for his end-of-year exams towards a Bachelor of Commerce undergraduate degree at Otago University

“The scholarship has relieved a huge financial burden as I fund my way through University,” he said.

“It has also been great to begin to understand the operations of a successful global company as I have worked with Oceania during the year.”

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