Myers Scholarship recipient looks forward to giving New Zealand a voice in Cambridge

Rangimarie Puttick, recipient of this year’s Sir Douglas Myers Scholarship to attend Gonville and Caius College at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, will go to Cambridge “not only enormously grateful to have been given this opportunity but hoping to be able to give New Zealand a voice in an environment where its values and aspirations could be so influential”.

Rangimarie, aged 18, is looking forward to “being immersed in an academic environment where I will also have the chance to expand my worldview”.

In Cambridge Assessment International Education’s Outstanding Learner Awards in 2020, Rangimarie received the Top in New Zealand across Five IGCSE Subjects, Top in New Zealand for IGCSE English Language, Top in New Zealand for IGCSE English Literature and Top in New Zealand for IGCSE Spanish awards. In 2021, she was Top in New Zealand for AS Level Spanish and also awarded a New Zealand Qualifications Authority Outstanding Scholarship in English.

Rangimarie last year left ACG Parnell College in Auckland with A*s in A-Level Geography, English Literature, Spanish and Economics, as well as already having achieved A*s in A-Level Mathematics and Biology in 2021 when she was still in Year 12.

Her academic prizes at the school included First in Year Level for Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 and Dux in Year 13.

Rangimarie’s teachers describe her as not only a hard-working student with “academic flair that cannot be taught” but also “a lovely person who is always willing and keen to help out others and who is always engaged and polite in class, as well as being very much involved in the wider life of the school”.

They praise her for her commitment to service and teamwork and for her sporting and musical activities.

Rangimarie’s many acts of service include being President of the ACG Parnell Rotary Interact Club, volunteering at Ronald McDonald House and setting up and running a youth group.

She was deputy head girl of ACG Parnell College in Year 13, co-captain of the school’s top debating team and co-editor of the school’s magazine.

Rangimarie’s sporting pursuits include netball, swimming, marathon running and tramping. In music, she has a diploma in piano, Grade 8 on the organ and plays the harpsichord, including performances with the New Zealand Chamber Group and in the Vivaldi Up Close concert series in 2019. She was in the finals of the New Zealand Pacific Music Competition in 2020, winning the prize for best performance of a piece by a New Zealand composer.

Rangimarie will study the Human, Social and Political Sciences Tripos at Cambridge, with the aim of potentially completing a master’s degree in international relations and hoping to represent New Zealand in some capacity on the international stage.

“Among many of the questions that have occupied me over the past few years, two in particular stand out – what is New Zealand’s place in the world and what is mine? I do not expect my studies at Cambridge to provide answers but instead I hope I will be equipped to explore these questions further,” she says.

“I have a vision for New Zealand as a key player on the international stage and I hope to find my own place by aiding the realisation of this vision.”

John Taylor, Chair of the Sir Douglas Myers Scholarship Selection Committee, says: “Rangimarie really impressed, not only for her outstanding all-round ability and wide-ranging interests, but also for her charming, open and inclusive outlook on life. She will be a fine ambassador for New Zealand at Cambridge and in the years ahead.” 

The late Sir Douglas Myers set up his scholarship in 2000 for academically gifted students intending to return to New Zealand to become leaders in their chosen fields.

Sir Douglas, a well-known businessman and former leader in the brewing industry, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Gonville and Caius College. He was a significant supporter of education, business, sport and the arts, and his scholarship continues his outstanding legacy of finding ways to create opportunities to encourage young New Zealanders to succeed in global competition. 

The annual scholarship provides tuition, college fees and a living allowance. Universities New Zealand – Te Pōkai Tara administers it in addition to around 40 other scholarships and fellowships.

Applications for next year’s scholarship open on 1 May, close on 1 August and will be decided in September.

See the scholarship’s web page for further details.