John Penyas never expected to find himself with a fees-paid university scholarship.
The 18-year-old’s life changed in a big way when he came to Hamilton from the Philippines at age 5.
And next year there will be another development when the St Paul’s Collegiate student takes up a $50,000 Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship to the University of Waikato to study computer graphic design.
"I never thought I would get this far, to be honest," he said.
"I was really happy because it would have been hard for my grandparents to pay for me to go to uni."
Penyas' came to New Zealand to live with his grandparents. There were many changes for him to take in – one was getting three meals a day.
"It was pretty bad back in the Philippines. It was hard to get food over there."
When he first found out about his scholarship he had to rein in the excitement as he was busy collecting other prizes.
An email with the good news pinged through to his phone in the middle of a sports and cultural prizegiving.
But Penyas is no stranger to scholarships – his soccer and music skills got him one for St Paul’s.
He’s since made the squad for the Futsal Whites – although Fifa rules have made playing international games difficult.
On the music side of things, he'd passed his Grade 8 piano exam before starting high school and has had success in chamber music.
They're interests Penyas plans to keep up in his three years of study at the University of Waikato.
His academic focus will be computer graphic design.
"It’s something I'm quite good at and I enjoy it, so I'd like to go down that road," he said.
The Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship covers fees – provided students maintain a B average – and includes a range of professional development programmes.
Hillary scholars also excel in sport or the creative or performing arts.
