First Foundation

Doors are opening for Gene. 💙

Last month, our scholar Gene Percy went straight from school to the offices of Amova Asset Management to meet the team who'll be in her corner for the next four years, a tour, a warm welcome, and the start of something special.

Gene is proudly Amova's very first First Foundation scholar. 🎉

In her words:

"Receiving this scholarship has meant the world to me and my family... Doors have been opened for me that I would never have had access to otherwise, and I look forward to working with them over the next four years and beyond."

This is what it's all about, our rangatahi stepping into spaces that once felt out of reach, welcomed by people who believe in them.

Thank you, Amova Asset Management for opening your doors. 💙

We're in the running for the 2degrees Auckland Business Awards, People's Choice Award. Unlike the other categories, this one is decided entirely by public vote. That means you.

Every vote helps open doors for young people with extraordinary potential, but no clear way in.

Today, our alumni community is more than 800 strong. They're living proof of what a young person can unlock when someone opens the door and backs them to walk through it. And Aotearoa needs more leaders like them.

If you believe potential deserves opportunity, we'd love your support.

🗳️ Vote for First Foundation in the Central region.
Voting is open until midnight, Sunday 2 August, and you can vote once a day, every day.

Vote here: https://2daba.awardsplatform.com/entry/vote/rEqmjqzb/KqeMyApl?search=c600ef5ac3d326bd-1

Thank you for standing with our scholars and helping us create more firsts. 💙

Engineering runs on talent. New Zealand doesn't always make it easy to find.

July Evagelia is the first in his whānau to attend university. After the Christchurch earthquakes and seven different schools, he often felt like he was "just there" rather than aiming for further study. Then a teacher saw what he was capable of, and a First Foundation scholarship opened a door that had never existed in his family.

Now he's studying engineering at the University of Canterbury. And thanks to HEB Construction, he's not just studying it. He's living it. This summer, July shadowed a civil engineer on site, watching theory from his lectures translate into machines, roads, and real communities.

"I love seeing the practical work happen," July says. "It's been good to see how that all applies in the real world."

July is one of 55 First Foundation scholars currently studying engineering and construction — rangatahi who have the ability, and now, because of partners like HEB, have the experience to match it.

Mentor Paul Durdin, who was also the first in his family to go to university, helps July hold onto the big picture on the hard days. "He's doing something momentous," Paul says. "By succeeding at university, he'll change outcomes for future generations."

Talent is everywhere. But it needs a partner like HEB to become the next generation of New Zealand engineers.

Ngā mihi to HEB Construction and mentor Paul.