Hello! Welcome to the first of many blog posts about my coming adventures over the next 12 months as the Our World-Underwater (OWU) Australasian Rolex Scholar for 2010/2011.

I, like I’m sure every scholar before me, feel very privileged to be awarded the prestigious scholarship that will certainly be a chance of a lifetime! I feel extremely honored to be representing the scholarship society by being the fourth Australasian scholar and second New Zealander to be awarded the prestigious award.

Having previously applied for the 2009/2010 round, I have known about the scholarship for a few years. Since then I have been a regular on the scholarship society website and have been following many of the scholars adventures around the world. I can’t wait to hear about all their experiences first hand!

I was extremely excited when I received an email from Jayne Jenkins, the Vice-president of Australasian operations, stating that I had been selected for the final interviews and I had to get myself to Sydney, Australia! The resulting interview was very thorough, yet friendly. Everyone one the selection committee made me feel very comfortable during the experience, with any pre-interview nerves I had soon quashed by the warm welcome and relaxed atmosphere.

I found out that I had been awarded the scholarship soon after the interview whilst still over in Sydney. When I got the call from Jayne, saying I had got the scholarship, I was so stunned that after a very excited chat once I hung up the phone I nearly convinced myself to call Jayne back to double check it was indeed reality. What followed was a torrent of emails from OWUSS members all around the world with words of congratulations and offers to undertake experiences with them, coupled with me walking around in a surreal daze with a smile that just couldn’t be wiped from my face.

I would like to take the opportunity in this first blog post to thank Jayne for all your support and hard work you have already put in for me, for instilling your faith in me to rise to the challenge as this years scholar, I won’t let you down! I would also like to specially thank Jade Berman, the OWU New Zealand Coordinator, for all your help and support that you too have already provided for me. Furthermore a huge thanks to the Australasian scholarship selection committee for your faith in selecting me, I guarantee I will put all the effort and dedication into my scholarship year that I promised I would.

With the days before I head off to New York for the annual Awards weekend quickly dwindling, I am trying to tie up all the loose ends at home. It’s a very busy time trying to finalise everything for going away whilst simultaneously starting to organise my scholarship year. The Awards weekend promises to be an exciting fast paced few days; I look forward to meeting many of the societies members and officially becoming the Australasian scholar for 2010/2011! I am a USA mainland first timer, having only been to Hawai’i state, I am sure I will be blown away by New York, certainly a step up in size from my hometown Wellington, New Zealand.

I will be updating you soon on how everything goes there, I intend to do regular blog posts on this site throughout the year, with some video blogging along the way too. I will also be putting up a more comprehensive monthly journal that you will be able to find on the official OWU Scholarship Society website here.

Will Arlidge