With applications for the 2025 Keystone Study Awards shortly to close, it’s worth noting that two members of the selection committee could not be better qualified for their roles.
“Just as Tamati and Simone stood on the shoulders of those who went before, now it is time for them to give back and support the next generation of future leaders.” – Amanda Stanes, General Manager, Keystone Trust
That’s heartening news for the next round of candidates: when they line up for their interviews, they can be assured that Tamati Parker and Simone Sharp can fully empathise. The pair were applicants themselves once.
Some things have changed: in their days, the interviews were in person; now they’re all by Zoom. But the gruelling process is as intense as it ever was. Tamati was a shy young school leaver – the oldest of five tamariki – when he applied for a Keystone grant. Raised in Manutuke, south of Gisborne, by a single mum, he had never left his hometown and his sights had never been more than construction management. Now the Keystone 2004 alumnus is a director of C3 Construction – an inner-city, Auckland, construction firm. He is also a Keystone trustee, school leaver scholarship sponsor and employer – and has recently been appointed selection committee chair, replacing managing director of RCP Jeremy Hay, who has stepped down from the post.
The chair role is all part of the business of “giving it back and paying it forward,” says Tamati – who today describes his grant as a “pivotal point” in his life.
Simone Sharp came to Keystone from another perspective. She was in the third year of her second degree when she applied for a Keystone grant, but despite having more experience between high school and application, that original interview was equally challenging.
“I was still daunted and intimidated by the people who were in my newly-chosen industry and I knew I had to make a good impression,” says Simone – 2006 recipient of the first Keystone Trust Bayleys Property scholarship. Like Tamati, her involvement with the trust has been embedded since, with roles including student representative, alumni committee member and chair. Currently Director, NZ Health Sector Lead at Rubix, she is also a Keystone trustee and sponsor.
At her Keystone interview she says she thought she knew what the opportunities a Keystone grant were, cognisant that a career change from registered pharmacist to construction professional would take some effort and outside influence to pull off successfully. “The reality was, it was just so much better,” she now says. This year, Rubix is sponsoring its first Keystone Key Partner property scholarship student – something they are very excited about, she says.
That’s another illustration of the tentacles Keystone weaves with its big business connections: awardees can get semester placements as interns; those roles can turn into permanent posts on graduation. Simone notes that the connections she built through Keystone saw her get property placements in New Zealand through word of mouth, rather than arduous interview processes.
A big part of the success of the trust, now marking its 30th year, is the ongoing connection to Graeme Bringans, says Tamati. Graeme’s widow Binty established the trust – originally the Graeme Bringans Property Education Trust – on his sudden death at a young age. “There’s still a strong connection to Graeme, and Binty has been hands-on involved ever since.
“Over time, the trust has evolved, but Keystone has maintained a calibre of trustees who have a gravity to them. There’s nothing else like it in our industry.”
Keystone General Manager Amanda Stanes says the value of having alumni on the selection panel is immeasurable. “Tamati and Simone’s roles exemplify what the founding trustees hoped would happen – that the alumni would reach levels of maturity and leadership which would enable them to give back to the Trust. Prior to Tamati and Simone, alumni Corrina Gibbons-Hurinui (2000) sat as a member of the selection committee.
“Just as Tamati and Simone stood on the shoulders of those who went before, now it is time for them to give back and support the next generation of future leaders,” Amanda says.
Both Tamati and Simone, with their lived and ongoing experience of the trust, recognise the demands of the interview process. Keystone seeks out people who are different, and brings them into the fold, says Simone. She adds that it will be “awesome” to be on the selection panel with Tamati – who she has known from her student days.
And what sort of chair will Tamati be? “I hope it makes the process a bit easier for the student being interviewed. I was one of them once – and hopefully they can see themselves on the other side of the Zoom camera one day.”
