AIMES Emerging Talent and Scholarship Awards recognises young stars

Talented and dedicated youth from North Harbour were honoured at the North Harbour Club’s ‘AIMES Emerging Talent and Scholarship Awards’ on 13 June, with 16 individuals recognised for their outstanding achievements across Arts, Innovation, Music, Education, Sport, and Service to the Community.

At just 14 years old, Shan Liu made history as the first person to win consecutive AIMES Awards in Scholarship (2023) and the Emerging Talent Award (2024), also becoming one of the youngest recipients of the Emerging Talent Award to date.

“Receiving the AIMES Emerging Talent Award will support my musical journey and inspire me to give back to the North Harbour Club and local community,” said Liu. “This award not only celebrates my accomplishments but also emphasises the importance of nurturing emerging talents, fostering innovation, and driving growth in the music industry.”

Each recipient received $7,500, with fellow Emerging Talent Award winners including Miles Timmis (21) in Arts, Janayah Wadsworth (19) and Shan Liu (14) in Music, Summer Osbourne (18), Josh Armit (22), and Tara Vaughan (20) in Sport.

Additionally, ten AIMES Scholarship Awards were presented, each recipient receiving $3,000.

Among the recipients was 13-year-old Alpine skiing racer Anna O’Reilly, recognised for becoming New Zealand’s top-ranked under 14 female slalom skier and national U14 champion in slalom, giant slalom and super G.

“I extend my heartfelt thanks to the North Harbour Club and all sponsors for their support of these scholarships. This grant will cover coaching costs for my 2024 Alpine skiing season,” said O’Reilly.

Other recipients included Joel Bird (17) in Arts, Fuwen Aston Ding (14) in Innovation, Haifeng (Charles) Xing (13) and Lisa Murata Gutierrez (13) in Music, Luis Vallejo-Mohl in Education, Xavier Wetere (19) in Community Service, Bailey Flavell (16), Kaiha Gilbertson (17), William Mason (14), and Anna O’Reilly (13) in Sport.

North Harbour Club President Mike Atkinson acknowledged the club’s founding members and supporters since its establishment in 1995, having contributed over $3.2 million to date.

“We’ve been consistently impressed by the exceptional talent seen in nearly 200 entries for the AIMES Awards program over the past year,” noted Atkinson. “Our Judges Panel had the honour of selecting the most outstanding winners for the AIMES 2024 Emerging Talent and Scholarship Awards.”