Normally, it’s proud parents standing tall with their successful young adults at the annual Keystone Study Awards evening.
This year, however, two particular recipients brought a new take to that scenario, with a dad and his daughter each receiving a scholarship.
Pius Mihigo received an Argosy Property Scholarship, while his daughter Rebecca received an Ashton-Mitchell Property Scholarship. It’s the first time that a parent and child have both received a Keystone Trust scholarship – in any year – let alone in the same year.
Talking just before their formal presentation on awards night, both recognised the excitement of the evening and the potential that their scholarships offered.
The family – Rebecca is one of six children – arrived in New Zealand as refugees from the Republic of Congo in 2008. Rebecca is studying architecture at the University of Auckland; Pius is completing a Bachelor of Construction at AUT University.
Neither originally knew the other had applied for a Keystone Scholarship. Pius and his wife Pascasie Mihigo live in Hamilton with their younger children, and Rebecca lives in Auckland, when she did learn her father was a Keystone contender, Rebecca says she knew she would have been happy if either he or she had got one. “But when I heard it was both of us [who were successful], I was really happy to have this double opportunity.”
Pius – who commutes to Auckland to attend university – agrees. “It was very exciting when we were both offered a Keystone Scholarship. The whole family was like: ‘wow, this is a very excellent thing’.”
A student representative for his degree peers, Pius has some strong external connections as well. He has chaired the local arm of PEPA – a community charitable trust which aims to bring hope and build resilience to hopeless people and communities in his homeland. He is also part of the executive committee of the Congolese community and maintains close church ties. When he completes his degree – which will bolster the Diploma in Quantity Surveying he currently holds – he wants to further his career and improve society at large, he says. The Keystone support enables him to concentrate on his tertiary pursuits and not be constantly fretting about money, he adds.
Rebecca, who will complete her degree next year and then pursue her Masters, is the only architecturally dedicated tertiary student to receive a scholarship. She says her motivation to study comes from seeing people in her homeland who don’t get the opportunity to get an education. That’s especially noticeable now, when a resurgence of hostilities in the Republic of Congo has caused mass casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. “It makes me want to work harder.” Her future ambition is to establish her own architectural practice – “but make it a charitable one.”
Noting that it’s been many years since Pius last entered a lecture theatre, she says: “it’s quite encouraging on my side to see my father studying again.”
Keystone Trust General Manager Amanda Stanes welcomes the achievements of both. Occasionally the Trust has an application from a cousin or a sibling of an existing student or a previous student, she says. “However, to have a father and daughter combination is truly unique as both are going to make a significant impact on the industry in their various disciplines.”
Pius had applied for a Keystone Scholarship in 2023 but was not selected the first time round, she says. “His determination and drive to be part of the New Zealand sector saw him give another application a go.” His enthusiasm for the Trust encouraged his daughter to apply, Amanda adds.
