UK dream made possible thanks to Georgetti scholarship

Being neighbours with the Tower of London is just one of the many things Otago alumna Hannah Stone is looking forward to when she begins her year of study at King’s College London – study that’s been made possible thanks to a William Georgetti Scholarship.

Five William Georgetti Scholarships were awarded this year to encourage postgraduate study and research in a field that’s deemed important to the social, cultural or economic development of New Zealand.

Hannah will receive $45,000 to complete the Master of Public Health, which will start next month.

“I am very grateful to Universities New Zealand and the estate of William Georgetti for the scholarship, both because it means I’ll be able to participate in this prestigious Master’s programme but also because I’ll be joining an esteemed network of alumni who have received this scholarship in previous years.”

Hannah completed a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery through the University of Otago, before going on to complete her House Officer years at Hawke’s Bay Hospital.

She applied for the Master of Public Health at King’s because she’s always dreamed of studying towards disease prevention at a prestigious university in the United Kingdom, she says.

“I considered other universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, but King’s offered the specific Master of Public Health programme I was wanting to study.”

Once Hannah was accepted into the programme, her next challenge was how to make it financially feasible.

“I spoke to one of my mentors through Wāhine Connect, Maple Goh, who is an alumna of Otago’s Medical School and a previous William Georgetti Scholar. She recommended I apply for this scholarship.

“I’m also very grateful to Professor Rebecca Grainger from the University of Otago, Wellington, and Dr James Curtis from Hawke’s Bay Hospital who supported me by submitting references for my application.

“I would also like to acknowledge my family who have always been incredibly supportive of me.”

While at King’s, Hannah will be doing a Master’s made up of a mixture of eight core and elective course modules, while also working on her dissertation.

“If we can reduce the number of admissions to hospital – by preventing disease rather than focusing on treating disease – then this can have a big economic impact on New Zealand.”

The main thing her Master’s will focus on is disease prevention, which is where New Zealand should be focusing more health dollars, Hannah believes.

“If we can reduce the number of admissions to hospital – by preventing disease rather than focusing on treating disease – then this can have a big economic impact on New Zealand.”

Hannah’s top priority as a doctor is improving the health of New Zealanders, she says.

“Working clinically made me realise how much illness could potentially be prevented before people ever reached hospital. I became increasingly interested in how I could use my medical background to improve health at a population level.

“There are still significant and unacceptable inequities in health outcomes for Māori and Pasifika communities in New Zealand – something which I hope to address both through this Master’s and throughout my career.”

Hannah heads to the UK at the beginning of September and will stay in central London, in King’s postgraduate accommodation.

“It’s located right next to the Tower of London, and the place I'm staying in has incorporated one of the London Roman Walls into its architecture. I have friends in London and in wider Europe, which makes the prospect of moving over very exciting.

“I think the fact that it’s a 12-month Master’s will mean it will be fast paced and intense, but I also think it will be incredibly exciting studying at a top university right in the centre of London.”

Hannah is no stranger to balancing busy studies and extracurricular activities.

“I loved how sociable and friendly the University of Otago was. I’ve formed lifelong friendships through my time completing my medical degree in Dunedin.

“I also completed an entry level French paper prior to visiting my friend in France at the end of my third-year summer. I used to go to Alliance Française with some of my friends from medical school, which I loved.”

Skiing was also a favourite pastime during her years at Otago’s Dunedin campus.

“I loved the proximity Otago University had to the ski fields. My friends and I used to do trips to Queenstown for ski weekends or in the mid-semester breaks. While I was completing my medical degree, I sat my qualifications to become a ski instructor – a course I completed alongside my Dad, which I really loved.”

Hannah plans to spend at least a year in London and is keeping an open mind as to where her study takes her, she says.

“At some stage I would ultimately love to end up back in New Zealand working at a population level in health policy and disease prevention.

– Kōrero by Internal Communications Adviser Laura Hewson