Alumni-funded scholarship supports the making of a midwife
Three overseas alumni have transformed their connection with VUW into practical support for students struggling with financial hardship.
Chan-Hoong Leong, David Tan, and Mark Soh met at alumni events over the past several years where they connected over their desire to give back. In 2024, they began networking with other Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington alumni in the Southeast Asia region and spearheaded the initiative to create the Southeast Asian Alumni Scholarship.
The $8,000 scholarship is available to domestic students struggling with financial hardship, and a strong preference is given to applicants who are actively giving back to their community.
The inaugural recipient, Genevieve de Vries, was the perfect fit. The second-year Bachelor of Midwifery student is passionate about using her skills to help families thrive.
“It’s about a lot more than just money,” says Genevieve. “Receiving the scholarship freed up a big mental load. I feel a strong responsibility to learn as much as I can and do well in my studies. It also makes me want to pay it forward in the future to someone else.”
For Chan-Hoong, establishing the scholarship was deeply connected to his own experience in Wellington while he pursued a PhD in Psychology at VUW.
“I came to the windy city with limited finances, and with my wife and a three-month-old toddler,” says Chan-Hoong. “Throughout my education my family and I benefited from the generosity and kindness from ordinary Kiwis, be that the landlord, shop owners, family doctor, or train commuters. This scholarship is my chance to give back not just to VUW, but to the city and the people who were so kind to us.”
Mark, who received a Bachelor of Commerce and an MBA from VUW, and David, who completed a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and International Relations, share similar sentiments about their time in Wellington and attribute their positive experience with Kiwi culture as a key motivator for giving back.
“I thank Victoria University for giving me not just the foundations of knowledge I’ve taken into my work, but also for the Kiwi attitude of friendliness, helpfulness, and empathy,” says David. “Those values have helped me maintain consistency in my work values my whole life. Now that we are in our 70s and 80s, we thought it was time to use those same values and help the younger generations who are facing financial difficulties.”
The domino effect of generosity
Genevieve grew up in rural Manawatū, and dreams of taking her burgeoning midwifery skills into small towns around New Zealand where maternal care practitioners are few and far between. While she enjoys the clinical aspects of supporting births through hands-on placement work at regional hospitals, it’s the small human interactions surrounding the main event that Genevieve loves most.
“You might be helping someone have a shower or getting them a piece of toast,” she says. “Those aren’t necessarily the technical parts of the job, but it makes a world of difference to these new moms. It gives me so much purpose and makes my life feel really beautiful.”
For Chan-Hoong, that desire to pay it forward is at the heart of the scholarship. He describes the enduring relationship between alumni and their university through the Chinese expression “山水有相逢，来日皆可期”, which he translates as: “The mountains and rivers will reconnect one day, and we should look forward to meeting again.”
The saying reflects his belief that graduation doesn’t have to mark the end of an alum’s relationship with the University. Paths separate, but they can converge again, sometimes decades later and across continents. He says that creating this scholarship is a meaningful way to foster networks between former and current students that will strengthen the entire VUW community.
Generosity rarely ends with the initial act of giving—it ripples out like a domino effect and connects people in unexpected ways. This scholarship has not only kept Genevieve on the path to becoming a midwife; it’s helped ensure countless families will benefit from her care in the years ahead. And one day, because alumni believed in her, she may become the next person to open a door for another student facing an uncertain future.
If you’d like to support the Southeast Asian Alumni Scholarship or learn more about founding your own scholarship for VUW students, please get in touch with Rebecca Burke at rebecca.burke@vuw.ac.nz