Scholarships for students with disabilities

There are a number of under and postgraduate scholarships administered by the University and external providers. Most are intended for specific disabilities and some may be specifically for students studying within certain faculties. See Scholarships for students with disabilities.

The Scholarships Office also has information about the hundreds of other academic awards and scholarships available at the University of Auckland.

My name is Lucy Happé, and I was the 2020 recipient of the Pong, Tams and Ko Scholarship for Students with Disabilities.

I suffer from chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis and Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome, which has a huge impact on my studies. From my third year, when the pain worsened, Student Disability Services helped me successfully apply for "limited full-time" study, plus a disability car park. It is a lot more manageable for me to do a reduced number of papers, as I can really focus on doing well in them with some down-time when the pain is bad. This does mean that my degree, a conjoint Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science, will take a little longer, but this scholarship has afforded me the financial freedom to study part time without having to worry too much about the additional costs that come with the extra time.

I worked with a Workbridge consultant who helped me look for jobs that suited me. The biggest help they gave me was advice on how to disclose to potential employers that I have a disability. I applied for a part-time job with the Department of Conservation and put into practice the advice I was given. I was fortunate enough to be offered the job and my employers appreciated me being up front about my disability.

My role at the Department of Conservation involves inputting data on endangered species that have been seized at the border under the Trade in Endangered Species Act. When Covid-19 hit and the borders were closed, there was almost no one entering the country and so my workload dwindled dramatically. The scholarship was a godsend for me as it really helped me financially while I was not getting income from my job.

I used the money from the scholarship for most of my general expenses throughout the year, but one big purchase I was able to make was for a new laptop. My laptop was almost 10 years old and had started to get very glitchy over the last couple of years. The scholarship allowed me to finally invest in a new one and it was fortuitous I did since such a large proportion of the University year was conducted online.