scholarship winner jessie hawkes pearce helps para athletes


Jessie Hawkes-Pearce with EIT head of enterprise and computing faculty John West and Ryman Healthcare NZ CEO Cheyne Chalmers.

Jessie Hawkes-Pearce shouldn’t be one to relaxation on her laurels, with a finger in lots of pies and already trying to the longer term after being awarded the Sir James Wattie Scholarship three weeks in the past.

The 26-year-old EIT Enterprise pupil gained the $15,000 scholarship, provided by Ryman Healthcare in honour of the visionary Hawke’s Bay entrepreneur.

The award was introduced by Ryman Healthcare NZ CEO Cheyne Chalmers at a perform attended by EIT head of colleges of enterprise and computing John West, household and buddies of Jessie and residents of the James Wattie Retirement Village.

Jessie shared with the residents and friends her journey after leaving faculty to comply with her desires — graduating on the NZ Florist Academy, engaged on an natural cattle station within the Australian outback, to working her personal on-line enterprise promoting reusable and plastic-free merchandise. Jessie can be linked with Hawke’s Bay Rotary and is a constitution member of Rotoract.

“Jessie is a deserving winner and we hope this scholarship will encourage her and different enterprise college students to go ahead as future entrepreneurs following their very own imaginative and prescient within the footsteps of Sir James Wattie,” Cheyne says.

Final yr Jessie, who was born with one hand, began the Hawke’s Bay Halberg Workforce, a group group for teenagers with limb variations, which she mentors and manages. The workforce of 12, for youth aged 8 to 21, competed in final yr’s annual Halberg video games in Palmerston North, profitable finest area general.

“We had been so excited I by chance dropped the glass trophy and now it sits damaged on my shelf,” Jessie says.

This win gave Jessie the momentum to arrange the Incapacity Sports activities and Rec Hawke’s Bay (DSRHB) charity, as Hawke’s Bay is among the solely areas in New Zealand with out a longtime Para-federation.

“The charity will assist allow the expansion of the workforce and help the workforce going to the video games. I wish to assist. If it isn’t me, it will be another person. I’m proactive and put my hand as much as strive new issues. I am very busy on a regular basis and need to be organised.”

Subsequent week Jessie will likely be representing DSRHB on the Sports activities NZ incapacity hui in Auckland.

“That is to attach with others within the sector and develop our understanding as to how we will finest work collaboratively to implement inclusive practices. We even have the same growth alternative occurring in November with Paralympics New Zealand.”

This yr Jessie has been working two part-time jobs — inside styling/staging through the week and social gathering styling on the weekends.

“I actually get pleasure from having inventive work, it is actually enjoyable. I like my family and friends, they assist me each day and I cherish their ongoing help. And I really feel actually fortunate to be surrounded by so many wonderful folks.”

Final summer time Jessie’s adventurous spirit moved her to spend three weeks at Outward Certain, studying to navigate, hike, sail, run a half marathon “and plenty of different outside actions in a workforce constructing setting”.

“I extremely suggest others to go for this expertise too. I get pleasure from being social and having work/life steadiness. I am enthusiastic about well being and health and mixing these areas of my life collectively.”

She hopes sooner or later to be employed by the newly fashioned charity and help bodily disabled kids to take part in sports activities, and to normalise the acceptance of numerous skills in the neighborhood.

“I’ll use the scholarship cash to additional my training and plan some worldwide journey. It does give me a lot of choices.”

This can be a Public Curiosity Journalism funded position by NZ On Air



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