Meet the young leader shaping Waitaki’s future

By Hope Florence Milo, Youth Press Gallery, Youth Parliament 2025

Photo Caption: Enya O’Donnell shadowing her MP, Miles Anderson, for a day

The Year 12 student, who is representing Waitaki as Mile’s Anderson’s Youth MP, says there’s one main hurdle holding back many rangatahi/young people in her community.

“Looking particularly at school culture, I feel like tall poppy syndrome has gotten to the point where it’s affecting everyone,” O’Donnell says.

Most common in Australia and New Zealand, tall poppy syndrome describes a social phenomenon where people criticise, resent, or “cut down” other people’s accomplishments instead of celebrating them.

“It’s just such an ongoing culture that’s been here forever, and it’s lowering academic results, people’s mental health, and overall confidence in themselves.”

“It also makes it so much harder for them to reach out and connect with people in the community.”

O’Donnell says she’d like to envision a future where young people can pursue their passions without these obstacles, a place where New Zealanders can “live to work, not work to live.”

O’Donnell is already helping to build this future. She has been helping to lead an environmental group at her school, Waimate High School.

“A couple of years ago, an older student started an environmental group at my school, and I decided to join that. Once she left high school, there wasn’t really anyone to continue it, so I decided to take up that unofficial role of leader,” she says.

“I organised the meetings and create activities… It was a great opportunity to develop my leadership skills, and for other people to learn something that they might not otherwise have been able to.”

O’Donnell now has the unique opportunity to grow those leadership skills on a wider scale, by shadowing MP Miles Anderson.

“Seeing what he does, how he communicates with communities, and how he helps solve problems is really insightful,” she says.

“There are some things that I just watch and listen, and I’m like, I had no idea this was happening. It’s really shed some light on the responsibility of an MP to alleviate or resolve issues.”

The experience, however, has made her “feel a mix of emotions.”

“There’s some really tough things that will probably take a lot of effort, time, and tears.”

“But also, it’s taught me that I can think about these things and come up with solutions.  There can be a way out, a way to resolve things. There can be a way to ease some relief from what’s happening to the community.”

With a renewed sense of hope for a brighter future – a future she is helping to create – O’Donnell’s advice to other young people is simple.

“Don’t be afraid to be the first person to get up and do something. Usually, everyone else is waiting for someone else to start. Be that person who rolls the ball first and everything will follow.”