Twenty-three-year-old Beauche Mcgregor was born with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy (ACP) and is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Social Work degree. She requires an Academic Support Worker to assist her in her studies and she is now fundraising through her 'Give a Little Page' to get the help she desperately needs.
Beache McGregor is a self-confessed people person. But her dream of becoming a social worker is hindered by her disability. McGregor received funding from Work Bridge for her studies for a year and a half before it was cut at the beginning of last year. Beauche is one of approximately 7,000 people in New Zealand have some degree of Cerebral Palsy, one third are under 21 years of age. But funding for assistance at the tertiary level is limited to just $15,000 per person. So Beau is now fundraising to get the help she needs. McGregor hopes to complete her studies and work for her iwi in Te Wairarapa.
Mcgregor had this to say to us about her wanting to become a qualified social worker, "The area I'm from there's a need for more help, more help in the community, there has always been a need for more people and I love working with people. I need a reader-writer or an academic support worker.
She had this to say about when her funding from Work Bridge was cut and taking things into her own hands in terms of raising funds for her studies, "I felt lost and I didn't know where to turn to for more funding. To be honest I don't really think it would be possible to do a full-time study. My target was originally thirty three thousand dollars, but I have raised about five thousand dollars already. My goal was for ten hours per week per paper and it came out to around thirty three thousand dollars over the next three years.
Senior Student Success Advisor UCOL Laura Bradley says, "I think what needs to happen overall is a clear line of funding for students who have a disability, Beau is one of many. Beau's here every day working towards her degree and she's an inspiration for pretty much every student that walks through the door. They see what she's doing and what she's working towards."