The year 13 Southland Girls’ High School pupil was named among the recipients of the Nga Karahip Uru Rakau — Forestry Scholarship programme.
Emma (16), of Invercargill, said she was "excited" by the prospect of studying for a bachelor of engineering in forest engineering at the University of Canterbury from next year.
Through the scholarship, she would receive $8000 a year for four years of study.
The scholarships also includes three paid summer internships with Te Uru Rakau — New Zealand Forest Service, or an forestry employer.
She decided to seek a career in forestry after attending a women in engineering camp at the University of Canterbury in January this year and found a workshop on forest engineering to be the most interesting.
The dream was to use her problem-solving and organisational skills to work in the project management and logistics of developing commercial and native forests.
Her interests include technology, innovation, biodiversity and sustainability.
"I hope we can reduce New Zealand’s overall carbon emissions."
Between studying for her exams, which started yesterday, she had been milking about 600 cows on her grandparents’ sharemilking operation.
"They’ve always had holiday work available for when I needed some money — I’ve done a bit over the years."
Service business and spatial intelligence director Debbie Ward said the scholarship programme offered pupils a pathway to higher-level study, to gain the skills, expertise, and capabilities which the forestry and wood-processing sector needed now and into the future.
The scholarship programme, now in its fourth year, aimed to grow the capability of the industry’s workforce by increasing the number of those who identified as female and of Maori descent.
“We want to ensure our young New Zealanders see forestry as a sustainable and exciting career option, while adding to the skills and capability of our evolving workforce.”
