Scholarship Win Gives Picton Mum Second-Chance Career

September 12 2011

News Release

For Immediate Release

Scholarship Win Gives Picton Mum Second-Chance Career

A new mum in Picton still can’t believe she has won a scholarship to have her fees paid to train for a new career in Beauty Therapy at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.

Dallas Stephensen was picked as the winner of ’The Edge’ Study scholarship at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. The scholarship pays full-time programme tuition fees up to $2500 for those who enrolled on a course at the Marlborough campus.

She has enrolled for the Certificate in Beauty Therapy.

“It gives me the opportunity to change my life and it just feels like it was meant to be. I was thinking about it and couldn’t afford it and now it’s been given to me. I’m determined to do really well on the course.”

NMIT Youth and Communities Manager Grant McNeill says the scholarships have been a popular drawcard to NMIT open days for several years.

“To be able to offer someone like Dallas the chance to go for a complete career change is very exciting for NMIT staff and we wish her all the best for her new career.”

Dallas was on maternity leave from a bakery job she’d had for seven years when she saw the ad for the scholarship.

“I was wanting another 6 months home with baby and bakery hours aren’t very mother-friendly, so I was looking at a career change. 20 years ago I started a hairdressing apprenticeship but never finished it, but I’ve always been interested in that kind of thing and now I get a second chance.”

Dallas says at the NMIT open day she went to the campus and had a look at the beauty room and the hairdressing room and got even more excited and filled out an entry form.

“When they read out my name I couldn’t believe it. I was a bit blown away.”

Dallas starts the course in February next year which gives her another five months at home with her baby.

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