Northern South Island profiles - New Zealand Ministry of Youth Development

Northern South Island profiles

See below for summary profiles of young New Zealanders from the Northern South Island who have all made positive contributions in their communities.

Daniel Hayward

Daniel Hayward is Nelson born and bred. He joined his first council at Nayland College and attained the Deputy Chair position. He was at secondary school when he realised he was gay and came out openly at age 16. This realisation sharpened his desire to help illuminate and fight against negative perceptions of gay and bi people in New Zealand. He participated in the Nelson Youth Council for three years, co-chairing it in 2007. A seat with the Youth Advisory Group for the Nelson Health Action Trust followed, as well as his involvement with the Provoke Network in 2005 and 2006. It was his role as leader of NAGS (Nayland College Alliance of Gays and Straights) that has made the biggest impact so far. With Daniel’s drive it became a benchmark example in New Zealand for creating an inclusive school environment for both gay and straight students. It made its point with assemblies on diversity and a school wide ‘Day of Silence’ protesting against homophobia. Daniel showed an ability to involve students, staff, the school management and the wider Nelson community in making our students’ mental and physical safety a key issue in New Zealand high schools today.

Lenox Houston

Lenox Houston is aiming for high academic success. He is 13 and attends St. Thomas of Canterbury College in Christchurch. Of Maori, Pakeha and Samoan heritage, Lenox is a committed student who tries to promote a good work ethic to his friends. Lenox is a keen swimmer and has recently discovered a passion for debating. This passion has opened his eyes to the possibility of becoming a lawyer in years to come. He was runner up to Dux in his Year 7. His goal for Year 8 is to be Dux and complete all three NCEA levels. Head boy is a position that Lenox is aspiring to and, despite his youth, Lenox is a person with innate determination to achieve the highest marks he can. This determination comes with a rare willingness to help peers achieve academically as well. Lenox strives for his own academic goals, he is promoting the idea that boys, as well as girls, can aim for and achieve high academic results in all subjects.

Kimberley Black

Kimberley Black has taken on many responsibilities in her role as a Girl Guide Leader, and has dealt positively with difficult situations. She is a 23 year old from Blenheim who started her involvement with Girl Guides a much shyer person. Kimberley is proving her commitment to the Girl Guide Mission Statement ‘helping girls develop into confident and self-respecting women who contribute positively to their community’. She leads a unit of Girl Guides aged 9-14 years of age and together they take part in many activities – many of them based outdoors and focussed on camping and learning life building skills. She has learnt first aid and life saving, two handy community based abilities. However it is in her development of innovative programmes for her Unit that Kimberley became a leader. These programmes sometimes cater for Girl Guides with special needs and they need to be planned very carefully. The outdoor activities need specific guidance and these organisational challenges are all adding to her growing skill base.

Tamara McGregor

Tamara McGregor is an 18 year old Girl Guide leader from Blenheim who has a strong affiliation with young people and is much looked up to by younger Girl Guides. She is in Year 13 at Marlborough Girls College and has been in Guides for two years. Girl Guides has offered Tamara the chance to train in first aid and develop strong leadership skills. Her obvious love for children feeds into these skills. Tamara works with the younger Girl Guides (Pippins group aged 5-7) taking them in craft and outdoor activities. This role has given her the confidence to speak with a wide cross section of the community and a maturity to deal with stressful situations. Tamara has a natural empathy and team spirit. She is a great role model in the Guide movement.

Laura Shipley

Laura Shipley has faced the challenges of dyslexia to become a member of her Marshlands Pony Club Committee and the writer of a regular newsletter for the organisation. She is 15, lives in Blenheim and is in Year 10. Laura is a Girl Guides ranger as well as a horse rider. She demonstrates physical and service abilities. As writer of the Marshlands Pony Club’s newsletter she has gained computer and literacy skills. She has shown courage and patience to work through any difficulties she had in written communication. She is a junior Leader and a College librarian at her school, so demonstrates a love of language and communication. Because of Laura’s hard work, the Marshlands Pony Club newsletter has become more regular and up to date. She has impressed others with her progress.

Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith’s knowledge and passion for the Kaikoura landscape has been much admired by her community. Sarah is 19 and plans on studying environmental or marine science at Otago University. She is fitness focussed and loves to take advantage of the outdoor opportunities Kaikoura offers. Sarah’s interest in the environment is multi-faceted. She has taken weather measurements since 2005, attended the Enviroschools Conference in 2006 and is a leader of the Eco Council in Kaikoura meeting once a week. She has also written a new environmental education policy for Kaikoura High School. She takes direct action by participating in coastal clean-ups initiated by the Kaikoura Council. She maintains an organic garden, leading a group of Year 9 Kaikoura High School students in learning how to nurture a garden. Sarah won the Environment Canterbury’s Future Environmentalist Award and her efforts at Kaikoura High School lead to a Merit Award for the school from Landcare Research in 2006. She is also a member of the Kaikoura Youth Council and in 2007 won a World Citizen Award, given by staff at her old school for her service to the wider community. She is a great example of thinking globally and acting locally.

Rachel Leigh Cooper

Rachel Leigh Cooper wants to use her skills to help those in poverty. She was born in Zimbabwe and moved to New Zealand in 2003. She is in Year 11 at Avonside Girls High in Christchurch and has embraced a wide range of volunteer work in the five years she has been here. Rachel is working towards her Pre Hospital Emergency Care qualification with St. John’s and plans to achieve further qualifications once she has attained her driver’s license. She recently helped in the establishment of a new equestrian centre, volunteering her time to provide first aid, administration and manual work with horses when events at the centre were being held. Rachel is also involved with the OSCAR programme and works at a hairdressing salon in the holidays. Rachel pours many hours into St John’s, volunteering first aid for hours at a time and sometimes an entire weekend is spent on call. She wants to gain as much experience as possible, as she hopes to be a doctor. She wants to return to Africa one day to help build hospitals and assist with education and health projects. Rachel shows true commitment to improving peoples’ lives.

Zane Wederell

Zane Wederell is in Year 12 and lives in Greymouth. He has achieved extremely high standards in Web Design and has achieved academic distinctions. It is Zane’s position as a CCS advocate and CCS Disability Action West Coast Committee member that demonstrates his growth as a young person. Zane has Aspergers Syndrome, which has meant social hurdles to overcome, but he now speaks confidently in front of school groups and the public. Zane has sat on the Special Education Reference Committee as a youth representative for several years. He was involved in promoting an event at a local gallery called ‘Our Stories’. Zane would talk to school groups about his life and his disability and answer any questions the primary school children had. Zane will attend World Youth Day in Australia in July this year and is looking forward to coming back and sharing his experiences with his school and his community. To say Zane was a natural public speaker would be wrong, but through CCS he has challenged himself, reached out and developed communication skills that have enhanced his life and helped others understand difference in their community.

Ann Blackbeard

Ann Blackbeard is a student from Upper Moutere near Motueka. At age 17 her care for the elderly and disabled in her community has been recognised and appreciated. She has gained her NCEA Level 1 and Level 2 with Merit. As the child of a teacher and a nurse, Ann comes from a caring background. She is a committed sportsperson and has represented her region in netball, touch, volleyball and swimming. She is a dedicated swimmer, training in her school’s cold water pool and travelling long distances to compete and practice with other teams and schools. Ann has reached out to the elderly as a carer at the Woodlands Life Centre. She has improved their quality of life with communication and her nursing skills. Ann is experiencing the multi-faceted role of a nurse and carer, first hand. She has gained valuable skills for any job in the caring industry. As a liaison person between special needs students and mainstream students, Ann shows complete understanding in her dealings with people. She is a Student Contact for her school. Ann impresses her community with her sensitivity and her mentoring support. She overcomes obstacles, like geographical isolation, with planning and motivation. She inspires her school community.

Ellie Carter

Ellie Carter is Vice President of the Avonside Girls High Z Club, a youth service programme sponsored by the Zonta Club in Christchurch. She is in Year 12. Born in England, her family moved to New Zealand four years ago. Ellie has already made her mark in her community in netball and musically, playing the flute. This year she will tackle Spanish and sign language lessons. Through the Z Club, Ellie makes visits to the Cholmondeley Children’s’ Home. She is an enthusiastic writer and reader and through Z Club set up a Freedom Writing Committee. She has sharpened her own writing skills by attending the School for Young Writers at Hagley Community College. She is Head Librarian for her school, promoting Book Weeks and writing up book reviews. Ellie has served her community by helping find prizes for the Linwood Youth Festival, approaching local businesses to promote the event. Through putting herself out there for this Festival, she has learnt how to best encourage corporate support for any future events. Ellie expresses her views to the Christchurch City Council via their website. She is a keen problem-solver, working to achieve the best results for her community.

Jesse Templeton

Jesse Templeton has three areas she is active in and particularly passionate about: politics, environmental work and community service. Her activities for politics include representing local youth on the Tasman Youth council, and being the West coast/Tasman youth MP at the youth parliament 2007. Her environmental work includes setting up the Moose (Motueka Organisation for ongoing and sustainable environments) group at her school, running a recycled fashion show and setting up recycling systems for paper in her school. This has led to students being more aware of the need for sustainability. Her community service work includes being on the organising committee for World Vision 40hour Famine, SADD Students against Drunk driving, Amnesty International and MAGS (Motueka Alliance of Gays and Straights). The community has benefited from her involvement in all three areas. Politically, she has represented the youth of her community positively. Environmentally, the community has benefited through her efforts to help create a healthy, sustainable environment. Jesse's aim in all of this is to make Motueka a more aware place. She is a community minded person, so bringing about change and providing support is what she is driven to do.

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