The One Aotearoa Foundation Te Rourou named Izaya "Izzy" Simeon as the recipient for the third annual Antony Welton Fellowship.
Izzy, a 19-year-old Motupōhue/Bluff resident, aspires to be a boxing coach, and is passionate about supporting young Māori and Pasifika people to achieve their goals.
Southern Queens Boxing offered a "safe and positive environment" for him, and he wanted to give back to the community the same way his coach Faliu Mauu did.
"I wish to empower Māori and Pasifika and shape the way they embrace learning and combat hardship while being proud of where they come from," he said.
A haerenga (journey) to explore his whakapapa was one of the first goals Izzy hoped to achieve, and he planned to shadow his boxing coach to learn the ropes, and eventually train rangatahi to overcome barriers in their lives through boxing.
Mauu said Izzy was someone she could really rely on in the gym and was always there to help out.
"He has made amazing changes in his life in the past 18 months. Izzy is definitely going to be a top-notch coach and I’m honoured to help him achieve that goal."
Receiving the fellowship had inspired Izzy to get started straight away, attending training this week with a new purpose, he said.
"I am so grateful to be receiving this volume of support. This belief in me has inspired me even further to push towards my goals and I can’t wait to start ticking them off."
The Antony Welton Fellowship provides one young person each year with $10,000 to awhi (support) them towards their vision for the future. The fellowship was formed in 2021 when, after 12 years, Welton stepped down from his role as the chairman of One New Zealand Foundation (then the Vodafone NZ Foundation).
In honour of his dedicated contributions and commitment to improving outcomes for rangatahi, the Antony Welton Fellowship was established with the support of One New Zealand and chief executive Jason Paris, who grew up in Invercargill.
The fellowship is aligned to Te Rourou’s continued investment in the Invercargill Initiative and supporting local rangatahi to thrive.
