Scholarship win for CF student

OSH student Kelcie Mills has won an impressive $15,000 scholarship for her health and safety studies at Massey University. Kelcie, who is studying online from her home in Hamilton, is the first recipient of the Zespri Scholarship which aims to support future occupational health and safety leaders. The kiwifruit company is offering the scholarship as part of an agreement Zespri reached with WorkSafe NZ as an alternative to prosecution for a workplace accident involving a quad bike at a Tauranga orchard in 2016. It will voluntarily pay a total of $250,000 towards health and safety measures.

Kelcie (19) and her fellow students were advised to apply for the scholarship which required an essay on health and safety, and last week she was excited to hear she had won! Kelcie did not mention her health condition as part of the process and believes her youth helped her selection. "I think my age helped because you don’t find many young people studying health and safety."

She plans to use most of the scholarship for her three-year course, but may treat herself a little..."I might do some shopping but 90 percent of it will go on the course," she says. Kelcie originally enrolled in business studies at Waikato University last year but decided to switch to a bachelor of health science at Massey University that she is doing online - which she finds is better for her own health and future career.

"It’s quite nice being able to stay home and warm. I got quite sick attending University last year. And I found business studies a bit boring," says Kelcie, who is enjoying all the aspects involved in health and safety.

"Health is now being identified as more than just physical," she says in an article on the Massey University website. "You can't cover emotions with a hard hat and earmuffs and hope for the best."