Two 17-year-old Pompallier Catholic College students have won scholarships to study in the US.
King University in Bristol, Tennessee, has awarded Anya Gross a $191,000 athletic and academic scholarship.
There, she will play football and study sport and exercise science over a four-year period.
Caitlin McGoldrick will attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles on a $20,000 scholarship.
While the scholarships are for very different pursuits, both students say they won them by setting goals.
Anya Gross says things began to happen when she started to turn her dreams into goals.
She moved to New Zealand from South Africa when she was 5 and joined a football club after watching kids at Kensington Park.
She played as a midfielder for the Northern Football Federation Women’s Team.
In April last year she attended a football camp in Spain.
The local football club told her she had a good shot at a future in football and America was the best place to be.
Then a recruitment agency created her player profile and King University responded.
She had impressed the university with her technical ability and skill.
Meanwhile, Caitlin McGoldrick attended a two-week course at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
The experience caused her to drop plans to study medicine and pursue a career in drama.
She says she fell in love with drama and the environment.
She flew to Sydney in October to audition.
The scholarship covers her first year studying for a diploma in acting.
It’s a two-year course. If the Academy accepts her for a second year, the scholarship will also cover that year.
Both students leave in August next year to begin their scholarships.
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