ILT celebrated 65 recipients at its 2026 Tertiary Scholarship Presentation, held at Ascot Park Hotel on 2 November 2026.
Each recipient receives $2,000 per year for three years to support their tertiary studies, with scholarships awarded to both school leavers and adult learners.
ILT President Paddy O’Brien said the scholarships recognised the recipients’ achievements, character and aspirations.
“The 2026 recipients represent a broad spectrum of interests and career ambitions, from engineers to artists, healthcare professionals to teachers. It’s an exciting time as they prepare to take the next step, meet new people and discover where their studies might lead them. We’re proud to be part of that journey and wish them every success,” he said.
Each applicant is interviewed by a panel of three adjudicators, who consider academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, community contribution and future aspirations.
“The selection panel were impressed by the calibre of applicants and the contributions they are already making to their schools and communities,” said Mr O’Brien. “These scholarships recognise not only their achievements so far, but also their potential.”
Since launching its tertiary scholarship initiative in 2007, ILT has supported more than 1,000 local students with funding exceeding $5 million.
“These tertiary scholarships highlight our ongoing commitment to education and opportunities for young people, from the Learn to Swim programme to our support for the Youth Mark awards, Southland Secondary School Sports and initiatives like Young Enterprise,” said Mr O’Brien
The 2026 ILT Tertiary Scholarship recipients are:
| First Name | Last Name | School |
| Elise | Anderson | SGHS |
| Katy | Brown | St Margaret’s College |
| Quin | Brown | Verdon |
| Reese | Cajayon | Verdon |
| Amelia | Cameron | JHC |
| Sofia | Campbell-Wall | JHC |
| Lexie | Caudwell | JHC |
| Lachlan | Checketts | JHC |
| Ruby | Coleman | Te Wharekura o Arowhenua |
| Jorja | Creedy | SGHS |
| Samuel | Dawson | JHC |
| Amelia-Jayne | de Thierry-Curry | JHC |
| Emmerson | Dickson | SGHS |
| Lucy | Drake | SGHS |
| Roisin | Dyer | JHC |
| Jacob | Earley | JHC |
| Aria | Emms | JHC |
| William | Fincher | SBHS |
| Aneeka | Fosbender | JHC |
| David | Hardy | JHC |
| Jessica | Huang | SGHS |
| Sophie | Ineson | SGHS |
| Lilah | Jack | JHC |
| Jack | Jia | JHC |
| Marlina | Karena | JHC |
| Ryder | Laverty | JHC |
| Cissie | Lung | JHC |
| Erin | Macnamara | Verdon |
| Ezra | MacNaughton | Verdon |
| Angus | Manson | SBHS |
| Timothy | McIlhone | SBHS |
| Joel | Minani | Verdon |
| TJ | Mokoroa | SBHS |
| Trent | Moss | JHC |
| Cora | O’Rourke | JHC |
| Blessing | Peseta | SGHS |
| Matthew | Peteru | SBHS |
| Ella | Pope | SGHS |
| Aknara | Premathilaka | SGHS |
| Luca | Pudda | Verdon |
| Dikshya | Pun | SGHS |
| Meg | Riley | SGHS |
| Jasmine | Rivera | Verdon |
| Tyla | Robinson | SGHS |
| Alexander | Sandiford | JHC |
| Kyra | Savory | JHC |
| Louis | Smith | JHC |
| Natalie | Snoek | JHC |
| Ethan | Stark | JHC |
| Emma | Steele | JHC |
| Simpson | Stevenson | SBHS |
| Janika | Stirling | JHC |
| Ethan | Tamariki | SBHS |
| Roimata | Taylor | Aurora |
| Levi | Te Amo | SBHS |
| Neve | Templeton | JHC |
| Olivia | Thomas | Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu |
| Annie | Tran | JHC |
| Jorgia | Tucker | SGHS |
| Isabella | Ursell | SGHS |
| Mirek | Valosek | JHC |
| Matilda | Vincent | JHC |
| Kate | Wills | SGHS |
| Shaun | Winter | JHC |
| Hasya | Zairal Azmi | SGHS |