The awards aim to recognise 20 alumni in their 20s who have demonstrated outstanding achievements, contributed widely to their communities or have shown exceptional leadership in their personal or professional lives.
Between them, the 2021 award recipients’ contribution to local, national and international communities and initiatives covers a wide range of areas, including giving marginalised groups and minorities a voice; providing key advice on climate change policy; stepping into rural leadership roles; working to improve Maori and Pasifika health outcomes and wellbeing; forging a career in high-performance sport; and helping introduce a cutting-edge heart health start-up.
They all studied at Otago, across all subject areas.
Alumni engagement manager Donnella Aitken-Ferguson said the calibre of this year’s nominations was extremely high.
‘‘These inspiring young alumni are all making incredible contributions to our society, many of them only recently out of university.
‘‘Some are trailblazers in their field; others are committed to improving the lives and outcomes of people across diverse communities.
‘‘All of them are passionate about what they do, and we are very proud of the positive difference they are making to people’s lives and futures, here in New Zealand and around the world,’’ she said.
Award recipient and bachelor of biomedical sciences graduate Tisiola Talalima said she was ‘‘extremely happy and grateful’’ to be recognised by the university.
She received her award for her contribution to reducing health inequalities in the Pasifika community and for her engagement with the student community.
‘‘This award means a great deal to me, as I want to highlight the importance of improving Pacific health outcomes and be a positive representative for my community.’’
She hoped her award would encourage and inspire other Pasifika students who were interested in scientific research and wanted to remove the inequities of Pacific health.
