Mensa New Zealand is proud to announce the winners of the 2017 Mensa NZ Scholarships.

They are:

Annelies Judson of Auckland

Uma Sreedhar of Wellington

Samuel Keen of Invercargill

Mensa NZ offers 3 x scholarships each year to N.Z. students attending university. To apply each entrant must submit an essay on one of the following subjects:

How do you believe your study will assist to:

• identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; or

• encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence; or

• promote stimulating intellectual and social opportunities for its members

Mensa is the oldest and largest high intelligence organisation in the world. It has over 120,000 members in 100 countries.

The society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population, with the objective of enjoying each other's company and participating in a wide range of social and cultural activities.

Mensans have ranged in age from 2 to more than 100, but most are between 20 and 60. In education they range from preschoolers to high school dropouts to people with multiple doctorates. There are Mensans on welfare and Mensans who are millionaires. As far as occupations, the range is staggering. Mensa has professors and truck drivers, scientists and firefighters, computer programmers and farmers, artists, military people, musicians, laborers, police officers, glassblowers--the diverse list goes on and on. There are famous Mensans and prize-winning Mensans, but there are many whose names you wouldn't know.