Student wins first ever Joseph Peart Scholarship
PR company Porter Novelli announced last week that the inaugural Joseph Peart Scholarship has been awarded to AUT Communication Studies student Kaya Arai.
The scholarship recognises the outstanding contribution Joseph Peart has made to the field of public relations in New Zealand through his role as Curriculum Leader at AUT University for more than two decades.
Recipient Kaya Arai, who completed a Bachelor of Communication Studies, majoring in public relations, says the opportunity to apply for the scholarship was too good to miss.
“It was an extremely appealing opportunity for me. I want to experience the different sectors in public relations and I knew Porter Novelli would be one of the best places to do so.”
Applicants had to answer a range of written questions, submit a blog or vlog and go through a series of interviews to be awarded the scholarship.
As the recipient of the Joseph Peart Scholarship, Kaya Arai has joined Porter Novelli for a six-week internship and will also receive a $1,000 contribution towards further training and development in 2014.
“I'm looking forward to learning from some of the best people in the industry and it's so exciting to be in an environment where the team are so friendly and put up with my endless questions. The range of clients they have, as well as the skills the consultants have make it interesting every day, and I'm always learning something new,” she says.
Porter Novelli’s General Manager Strahan Wallis says the company wanted to honour Joseph’s contribution to both Porter Novelli and the PR industry in New Zealand.
“Joseph has played a big part in the professional development of many of our consultants over many years and we wanted to find a meaningful way to recognise this. We are hugely encouraged at the quality of applications and candidates we had for this scholarship. It's a small recognition of the contribution Joseph Peart has made to New Zealand’s PR industry. We feel very privileged to be able to honour him in this way.
"Kaya was awarded the Scholarship against a strong group of candidates, who made some excellent applications and we’re excited to have her as part of the team this summer.”