A former high school head boy is encouraging Māori to apply to ivy league universities after he was accepted into Columbia University in New York.
Wellington College ex -head boy Tai Renner (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Matangirau) will be studying political science and economics with a focus on ethnic and race studies later this year.
Renner is one of five Māori students who last year won a Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship, which aims to help Māori high school students gain admission to top-ranked universities.
He had few ambitions for overseas study during his early high school years and it wasn’t until he read an article by Jehan Casinader titled ‘Why do Kiwi young people set their sights so low?’ that he started wanting more for himself.
“Sort of always had a bit of an outsider mentality being part of a relatively small of a Māori cohort at the college but actually feeling a real sense of ambition and seeing the opportunity that was in front of me. As I progressed through schoo,l I saw that.”
Two years later Renner is an admitted student and will begin his four-year degree study in August.
“Part of my role now is being an admitted student to an ivy league university is making sure that opportunities exist for generations of Māori students who come after me.
“That’s sort of one thing I’ve learnt about this whole process is Māori have the skills to get into ivy league universities not just in terms of the academic rigour but the life source of what they want out of an application exists in our DNA.”
Renner said he has connected with other Māori studying overseas, including Koan Hemana, another Te Ara a Kupe Beaton recipient.
“The value of telling an amazing story and seeing our value is from where you’ve come from in terms of your tīpuna and whakapapa is massive.”
“Being the sole Māori representative at Columbia so far and being faced with such an awesome opportunity is really great to have the chance to share my story and hopefully keep the door open for a few more Māori students to follow after me.”
