Aspiring spatial designer wins Wintec | Te Pūkenga Gordon Chesterman Scholarship
Second year Bachelor of Design student, Grace Parquist, 19, has been awarded the Gordon Chesterman Scholarship for 2023. The hardworking aspiring designer has held down the same job since the age of 15 and has always struggled with study-work balance.
Grace decided at an early age that she wanted to be financially independent from her parents, she says she wanted to avoid being a “burden” to them.
But this doesn’t mean she wanted to be apart from them. When she was in her last year at Sacred Heart Hamilton Girls’ College, she was looking toward her future.
“When I was younger, I wanted to be an architect. But when I was in high school, I was battling taking extra classes and it was absolute chaos because I was taking physics, calculus, math, along with three core art subjects and I was teaching myself art on the side. And then we went into Covid. So, I was trying to teach myself all those things at home and it all just felt like a little bit too much."
When school reopened, Grace had time to rethink what she wanted to do and decided architecture was not for her.
“I dropped physics and calculus and started exploring with a couple of my art teachers some possibilities that still had me in that same space but without so much of a focus on the maths and physics elements.”
Grace had a lightbulb moment when she remembered taking an interior spatial design Wintec Star Course in Year 11.
“I’d really enjoyed that course and being in Year 13 when this was all happening, I decided to apply to do the course at Wintec and started straight out of school,” she said.
Grace has a great relationship with her family and that was a key factor in deciding to study in Waikato.
“My parents and I get along really well, and I didn’t want to leave home just yet. I wanted to spend more time with my family and have a supportive environment while I was studying so that was a big factor for me to stay in Hamilton, I also have a 13-year-old brother and I want to be around while he was growing up and going through high school. Those were all factors in helping me decide Wintec was the place for me, it offered everything I wanted study wise and it’s a 30-minute drive from my home and it means I still get to hang out with my family."
Grace has been working part time at Animates since she was 15, but last year she began to realise how much time she was spending at work and how that was impacting her studies, so, she decided to apply for the Gordon Chesterman Scholarship.
“I wanted more time to focus on my studies and to balance out the time between work and study.
“I also really liked the idea of having a mentor to help guide me through my studies on top of the idea of freeing up some of my time so I could commit myself a little bit more to my learning.”
The Gordon Chesterman Scholarship was established in 2012 by Wintec | Te Pūkenga in recognition of the significant contribution and valued work of long-serving Chair of Council, Gordon Chesterman. The first scholarship was awarded in 2013. Awardees are given $5000 towards the cost of tuition for the year and a mentor. Students studying Business, Information Technology or Media Arts are eligible to apply.
“When I found out I won I was very excited, I wasn’t expecting to win. I was a little bit apprehensive as I don’t normally put myself out there in that way, so I was really grateful and excited to be awarded the scholarship,” Grace said.
Group Director at the School of Media Arts, Sam Cunnane, was one of the judges on the scholarship selection panel. Cunnane said the panel looked for students who show commitment to community involvement paired with evidence of consistent good grades and flair for their chosen academic field.
“Grace has all these attributes, and she has sustained them over time. She is clearly dedicated to her studies, which is why she was a good fit for the award,” he said.
