Matthew Kang wins 2017 1 Million Cent Scholarship

Matthew (Taewook) Kang, a Year 13 student at HBHS was announced today as the winner of the 1 Million Cent Scholarship winner for 2017.  Matthew, who was born in Korea, chose to complete high school study in Hamilton. He was attracted to New Zealand’s focus on honing individual talent, the chance to develop a specialist knowledge in design and to experience life in a multicultural society.

With the help of the scholarship, Matthew is keen to pursue an undergraduate degree in art and design at Auckland University of Technology.  His ultimate ambition is to become a “famous designer”.

Education New Zealand (ENZ) Chief Executive Grant McPherson says ENZ received more than 1,200 applications for the scholarship after it went live on the SiNZ Facebook from 7-20 July 2017.

“I want to congratulate Matthew Kang on his win and wish him the very best for further study in New Zealand.  “Our institutions offer excellent creative arts education programmes, with creativity and innovation being at the heart of the New Zealand education system.  “Having a student like Matthew stay on to pursue university study in New Zealand says a lot about the high-quality education and positive learning environment that we offer.  “Most of the scholarship entries were of high calibre, highlighting how engaged our social media community is, and how social media platforms are such an effective way to reach mobile young people around the world,” Mr McPherson says.

The 1 Million Cent Scholarship was set up in celebration of ENZ reaching one million followers across all of its SiNZ social media platforms.

The scholarship was run entirely on ENZ’s social media platforms, which include Study in New Zealand Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, WeChat, Instagram and Snapchat.