Bayfield High School
Then: After taking months to recover from a burst appendix, Anderson was back to running and on the podium at several events. The 18-year-old had won the school cross-country for five consecutive years and a raft of gold and silver medals in Otago duathlon, multisport, cross-country and athletics championships. He planned to study computer science and economics.
Now: Anderson continued to run competitively during his time at university but is now more likely to be found at a parkrun than a club race. After a knee injury, he transitioned to road cycling and has competed in various races, including a UCI Gran Fondo and a couple of stages of the Tour of Southland. He has a science degree in information science, computer science and software engineering and is a consultant for DXC in Christchurch, working with public-sector clients on digital transformation programmes.
LYDIA DUNFORD (NEE ANDERSON)
Now: Dunford lives in Lower Hutt, where she is a registrar in cardiology - part of training as a specialist in internal/hospital medicine. As well as her medical degree, she has a postgraduate diploma in obstetrics and medical gynaecology. She stopped playing the trumpet, partly because it was too noisy when she lived in a small apartment, then a tiny house community. Instead, she now enjoys running, cycling, bouldering, diving and printmaking.
Blue Mountain College
HEBE JUAN
Now: After graduating with a bachelor of engineering (with honours in civil engineering), Juan worked as a structural engineer in Dunedin and then joined Clutha District Council and transitioned into project management. She now works for the New Plymouth District Council as an infrastructure project manager. ‘‘I’ve always been a bit of a nerd and love a good challenge so engineering was a natural fit,’’ she says. ‘‘One of the best parts is seeing a project come to life and knowing it makes a real difference in the community.’’ While still in Otago, Juan volunteered with Engineering New Zealand’s rocket challenge and was named First Princess at the South Otago A&P Show, an event she had entered in a bid to encourage young women to chase their dreams and step outside their comfort zones. She is no longer involved in rugby or netball but plays other sports socially.
Columba College
Then: A silver medallist in the South Island Secondary Schools Triathlon, Llewellyn had also gained numerous medals in regional and South Island ski championships. She hoped to study liberal arts in the United States, or arts and law in Auckland.
Now: Llewellyn is an associate in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity team at Freshfields in London. ‘‘Working for a magic circle firm in London has been something I dreamed of since I was at university and it’s a real ‘pinch me’ moment to have made that a reality,’’ she says, using the informal term which describes the five most prestigious London-headquartered multinational law firms. Only 13 when she was inspired by Jodie Picoult’s novels to become a lawyer, Llewellyn later graduated with a bachelor of laws (honours) and a bachelor of arts and was admitted to the Bar in 2021. She still skis, though only recreationally, and was a ski instructor for a couple of seasons in Hokkaido, Japan. She is not doing triathlons any more but has kept her running up for general fitness.
EMILY PARTRIDGE (NEE WILLIAMS)
Now: After working for a fashion social enterprise in New Zealand that employed women from refugee and migrant backgrounds, Partridge is now a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in Sydney. She does not debate any more but says she made many life-long friends through debating at university.
Cromwell College
ALANNAH SMYTH
Now: Smyth lives in Cromwell and is a health promotion officer with Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora’s national public health service, performing the functions of the medical officer of health under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act. This includes reviewing alcohol licence applications to ensure compliance with the legislation, monitoring existing licensed premises and working to reduce alcohol harm in the community. The path she took was ‘‘super different’’ to the one she had planned, she says, explaining she went to university to study law but discovered she had an interest in the health industry. After completing a bachelor of science, majoring in human nutrition, she also gained a certificate of public health.
Dunstan High School
Then: ‘‘Nothing beats being out in the field, getting bullets drilled at you at unreasonable speeds,’’ Hesson said after stumbling upon hockey by chance and ending up as goalkeeper and captain for the school’s 1st XI. The head boy hoped to one day own his own business.
Now: Hesson completed a commerce degree and works as an HR adviser for the Ministry for the Environment in Wellington. He no longer plays hockey but says two highlights from the past 10 years stand out — travelling to Thailand, Nepal and Bangladesh with his church to visit its mission partners, and reconnecting with the Sticks ’n Stones anti-bullying group that he helped found as a teen. Hesson joined the board and later was co-chair of the group as it joined with NetSafe and scaled up to a national level.
PHOEBE SMITH
Now: Smith is head of art at Fulham Prep School in London, teaching year 1 to 8 pupils visual art and design, and helping with school productions. Previously a secondary school teacher in New Zealand, she has a visual arts degree and a master of teaching and learning. ‘‘I wanted to be a drama teacher when I left school [but] after a year of study, I applied for art school and became a painting major,’’ she says.
East Otago High School
Then: Lister held several school leadership roles, including head boy, and was the first pupil in the school to achieve NCEA level 1 with excellence. He planned to study history and English, with the aim of becoming a secondary school teacher.
Now: After completing a bachelor of arts and science, with majors in history and zoology, and a postgraduate diploma in zoology (with distinction), Lister started a master’s degree but could not finish it due to the pandemic. Now an administrator at Ashley and Martin in Melbourne, he plans to work in the environment field once he is settled in the city. During his time in Dunedin, he hosted shows on Radio One, was a residential assistant at Arana College and managed the Baa Sports Bar, where he says he learned just as much as he did in eight years at university.
Gore High School (now Māruawai College)
Then: Breaking into the Southern under-18 hockey team, which included players from Otago and Southland, was a highlight for Barclay in 2015. She hoped to forge a career in physiotherapy or osteopathy.
Now: The owner of osteopathic clinics in Wanaka and Invercargill, Barclay also works as an osteopath, treating patients with a wide range of health complaints. The Wanaka woman has a bachelor of clinical sciences (osteopathic studies) and a master of osteopathic medicine. She stopped playing hockey during the pandemic but has completed several half Ironmans and last year, took part in her first full ironman at the Ironman European Championships, where she was third in the female 25-29 age group.
Then: Music and horses were Neal’s passions. The pianist had passed the grade six modern school of music theory exam and had won the Gore Pony Club’s most points award. She planned to study veterinary science.
Now: A veterinarian at The Vet Clinic Waiarapa, Neal works mainly with cats and dogs. She lives in Masterton and has been on maternity leave since the birth of her son in May. She did not continue with piano or equestrian events while at university, due to time constraints and logistics. However, she bought a horse after completing her veterinary science degree and says that rather than compete, she was happy ‘‘hacking around the farm at home’’.
John McGlashan College
Then: Ranked New Zealand’s number 1 under-18 5000m runner, Chignell had won a raft of Otago and South Island events over 1500m, 3000m and 5000m. He planned to study physical education, sports science and sports psychology, and hoped to compete at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
Now: While his focus throughout his career has been on the track, Chignell has recently competed well in road races and plans to make the move up to the marathon in late 2026. The Hill City-University athlete was recently selected for the 2026 world cross-country champs, which he also competed at in 2024. He represented New Zealand at the 2019 Oceania champs, where he won the 5000m. He has also won New Zealand senior men’s titles over 5000m, 10,000m, 10km road race and 10km cross country, is the fourth-fastest New Zealander of all time in the half marathon and ran a sub-four minute mile. A stress fracture in his lower back in 2019 put him out of the sport for three months and further injuries limited his racing in 2023 and early 2024, but he hopes to qualify for the Commonwealth Games next year, then the world track champs and the 2028 Olympics. He works as the claims manager for Navigate Insurance Brokers in Dunedin.
Then: Poon held 25 Otago swimming records and six national swimming medals but had realised his long-term goals were no longer in the pool. He had decided to focus on his studies and planned to take commerce and law at university.
Now: Poon completed a double degree in law (honours) and commerce at Monash University in Melbourne and is the global innovation programme manager for Onova, an innovation consultancy and technology start-up headquartered in Toronto. The role sees him lead large-scale innovation programmes for Fortune 500 companies, upskilling employees on the latest technology tools from Google, Microsoft and Amazon. While he no longer swims competitively, he teaches privately in Toronto. He has also played and coached tennis.
Kaikorai Valley College
SOPHIA TAING
Now: Taing works at the University of Otago in international marketing and recruitment, and still hopes to own her own business some day. In late 2015, her school’s student-led business, which aimed to turn food waste into biofuel and fertiliser, won the regional Young Enterprise competition in Otago and was nominated in two categories of the New Zealand Innovators Awards. While studying for a commerce degree, she co-founded the Otago University Cambodian Club, received the Otago Leadership Award after completing 170 hours of volunteer work, and represented the university in a social enterprise business case challenge. Later, she was part of the winning team in the StartUp Dunedin weekend, which challenges participants to create a viable business model in under 54 hours. She is no longer involved in archery but has taken up other sports including indoor bouldering and futsal.
Kavanagh College (now Trinity Catholic College)
GEMMA O’CONNELL
Now: O’Connell played social hockey while at university but recurring shoulder dislocations that required surgery saw her lose her passion for the sport and discover a new interest in endurance sports. She has since completed several marathons and taken up triathlon. Last year, she also did a full ironman, qualifying for the world championship in her age group. A chartered accountant whose commerce degree was a double major in finance and marketing, she works as a product manager for British Airways in London.
JESSIE MURPHY
Now: Murphy still runs several times per week but no longer competes. She completed a science degree, majoring in neuroscience, and lives in Auckland, where she is the e-commerce and digital marketing manager for fashion store Workshop.
King's High School
Then: Becoming a professional musician was the goal for Otley, who was a singer in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Choir and a violinist in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Symphony Orchestra.
Now: Otley recently began studying towards a doctorate in composition at the City University of New York on a fellowship. The PhD is a five-year programme that will combine coursework, research, teaching and composing. He completed a bachelor of music (1st class honours) in violin and composition at the University of Otago, also playing with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, singing in the New Zealand Youth Choir and participating in several young composers’ programmes. Towards the end of his degree, he took up more conducting and has since worked with groups such as the Dunedin Youth Orchestra, St Kilda Brass, Opera Otago and the Composers Association of New Zealand workshop ensemble. In 2021, he was awarded the William Georgetti Scholarship to study towards a master’s degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and, later, was accepted into the 2022 edition of the prestigious Voix Nouvelles Academy at Royaumont in France. He was also the 2023 NZSO National Youth Orchestra composer in residence and won New Zealand’s premiere composition award, the SOUNZ contemporary award, last year.
Lawrence Area School
HANNAH BLACKMORE
Now: A registered nurse at Christchurch Hospital, Blackmore works on a general surgical ward, looking after patients with abdominal conditions. Shiftwork makes it difficult for her to play sport regularly but she occasionally plays social netball.
OSCAR GOODLET
Now: A construction foreman for SouthRoads, Goodlet has a New Zealand certificate in infrastructure civil works (level 4). He lives in Dunedin and plays for the Lawrence Rugby Club.
Logan Park High School
JACOBI KOHU-MORRIS
Now: After completing a law degree (first class honours) and a bachelor of arts in philosophy, politics and economics, Kohu-Morris was admitted to the Bar and worked at the Court of Appeal. He is now studying for a master of laws at the University of Cambridge in the UK.
Then: One of the school’s top scientists and mathematicians, Anastasi had earned six Otago Science Fair premier awards, two Best in Fair prizes, and two national awards at the Genesis Energy Realise the Dream contest, and was planning to study physics and statistics.
Now: ‘‘I think I’ve been on track to do a science PhD since I was about 5,’’ Anastasi jokes, explaining that his PhD in data science is focused on finding better methods for measuring political and social polarisation as international ones don’t work particularly well for New Zealand. Based in Christchurch, he started out at university as a double major in statistics and physics but dropped the latter subject after finding out that quantum mechanics wasn’t for him. Instead, he completed a bachelor of arts, majoring in communication studies (1st class honours) and statistics.
Maniototo Area School
Then: After three pupils at her school died from suicide in eight months, Smith put her emotions into helping to found the Sticks ‘n Stones group to reduce online bullying. She planned to become a nurse.
Now: Smith officially ‘‘retired’’ from her Sticks ‘n Stones role in 2019, but not before she was presented with a Queen’s Young Leaders Award by the late Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace and made an associate fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society in recognition of her service.
A registered nurse, she spent the first few years of her career at Dunedin and Christchurch Hospitals, then went contract nursing in Australia, which gave her the ‘‘financial freedom’’ to dedicate this year to volunteering.
She recently spent a month with Asha, an organisation that delivers healthcare and education to those living in slum communities in New Delhi and is now in Sierra Leone with Mercy Ships, which provides surgical care and training. As well as her nursing degree, she has a critical care qualification and a postgraduate diploma in nursing and was the first graduate from Otago Polytechnic’s bachelor of leadership for change. She was also a presenter at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, held in New York.
HOLLY THOMPSON
Now: Still heavily involved in curling, Thompson has played more than 100 games for New Zealand in countries such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Korea and Canada. She competed at the Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer in 2016 and was in the first New Zealand women’s team to qualify for the world championships, win a game at the event and earn Olympic qualification points. This month, she travels with the women’s team to Virginia, Minnesota, to compete at the Pan Continental Championships and seek qualification for the next world championships in March 2026. In the past 10 years, she has also competed in various national tournaments and been a member of the winning New Zealand women’s team six times. After receiving the Dux Cup in 2015, she completed a science degree and a master of science in zoology, with distinction. She lives on Omarama Station with her partner and is the clinic co-ordinator at Vetlife Twizel.
Otago Boys' High School
SCOTT BEZETT
Now: Bezett says he while he planned to become a teacher, he was tempted into postgraduate study by the staff of the classics programme at the University of Otago and fell in love with research. This led him to do a master of arts in classics and a master of music in classical voice, after earlier completing a bachelor of arts with honours, in classics, and a bachelor of arts and science with majors in mathematics and classics. He is now the programme co-ordinator for Te Pae Kōkako - the Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio, a postgraduate masters programme for promising opera singers based at the University of Waikato. On the side, he free-lances as an opera singer around New Zealand and hopes to expand on this with a career overseas in the future. He has performed with New Zealand Opera, and was named best supporting male in a musical at the 2021 Otago-Southland Theatre Awards. Although he no longer rows, he captained the New Zealand Universities transtasman test series rowing eight in 2017 and 2018 and competed twice in Chengdu, China, for the University of Otago.
Otago Girls' High School
CAITLYN CUNNINGHAM-TISDALL
Now: Cunningham-Tisdall completed medical school in 2021 and is a doctor for Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora in Canterbury. As a student, she helped publish a paper on the incidence of type 1 diabetes in children. She also volunteered on the paediatric wards at Christchurch Hospital with Radio Lollipop and has a postgraduate diploma in child health. She still plays the violin for her own enjoyment and this year, was involved in the New Zealand Doctors Orchestra.
KARLEY WILDEN-PALMS
Now: Wilden-Palms completed an architecture degree at Victoria University, receiving a highly commended award for outstanding final-year projects and now works as an architectural graduate with Wilden Design, a practice run by her family. Before suffering a second rib stress fracture injury and retiring from rowing, the Dunedin woman rowed for the University of Otago, winning gold with the senior eight, silver with the senior pair and bronze with the senior four crew at the 2017 New Zealand Rowing Nationals. She also competed in two International Universities regattas in China and was selected to represent the New Zealand University team in the transtasman regatta against Australia.
Queen's High School
Then: Running rings around others was par for the course for Gipp, a talented figure skater whose many medals included a gold in the national synchronised skating championships. The school’s top scholar in 2014, she planned to put her skill in languages to work as a journalist.
Now: Gipp represents Australia at an international level and has competed at four world championships. She has also lived in and competed for, Sweden. Based in Sydney, she has a bachelor of arts in politics and philosophy as well as a masters in politics. She works for the safety and security improvement unit at the New South Wales Ministry of Health, trialling new security technologies, identifying security risks in healthcare settings and providing advice to the Minister of Health.
Roxburgh Area School
Then: A true all-rounder, Forbes played netball in the South Island Area Schools’ B team, was on the school debating team, played guitar and piano, and had achieved excellence endorsements in NCEA. She planned to pursue a career in science.
Now: A primary and preschool teacher, Forbes is currently teaching English to children at a summer camp in Spain. She has a bachelor of science with honours, majoring in psychology, and a master of teaching and learning, endorsed in primary education. Although she never saw herself as a teacher, studying child development during her psychology degree inspired her to learn more about learning and education. She has continued to play club netball since leaving school.
RUBY PARKER
Now: In her role as a risk consultant for Ernst & Young in Auckland, Parker uses large-scale data modelling to help companies manage risk and stay compliant with legislation. She has a bachelor of science (honours) in anatomy and a master of science communication. During her time at university, she was a volunteer bioarchaeologist with the Southern Cemeteries Archaeology Project, excavating historic cemeteries with unregistered burials. She also curated a museum exhibit in the Lawrence Goldfields Museum, published two academic papers and had a podcast on RNZ.
St Hilda's Collegiate School
Then: As well as being a Big Sing national finalist, McIndoe was a United Nations Youth member, a delegate for the Aotearoa Youth Declaration and a strong orator who had reached the final of the RSA Cyril Bassett VC Speech Competition. Her goal was to study law, politics and music and to work for the UN.
Now: McIndoe is undertaking a doctorate of musical arts in composition at New York’s Columbia University, where she also teaches undergraduate music classes. After completing a law degree, a bachelor of arts in gender studies (1st class honours), and a bachelor of music in composition and piano performance, she also gained an executive MBA from the Global Leaders Institute for Arts Innovation and a master of arts in musicology. Her interest in debating and Model UN continued through her undergraduate studies, when she competed on the University of Otago senior moot team alongside fellow Class Act recipient Jacobi Kohu-Morris, and led the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2018.
ALEISHA RUSKE
Then: Spending several hours training before and after school each day was normal routine for Ruske, who was one of the region’s top basketball point guards and swimmers. A member of the Otago Goldrush women’s team — winners of the national women’s basketball league in 2015 - she had also won gold in the 100m and 200m butterfly at the New Zealand Short Course 17/18 Age Group Championships. She planned to study law and finance.
Now: Ruske recently moved to Auckland, where she is a corporate development manager at Crockers Property Group. Prior to this, she spent nearly four years at PwC New Zealand in Auckland and Strategy&Netherlands in Amsterdam, working in mergers and acquisitions. While completing a commerce degree (finance major) and a law degree (honours), she played basketball for the Otago Goldrush and in her second year of work, she relocated back to Dunedin from Auckland to play for the Southern Hoiho. As there ‘‘isn’t much of a basketball scene’’ in Amsterdam, her main involvement in the sport in the past few years has been following her brother playing for the Nuggets. She stopped swimming in 2015 so she could enjoy the full university experience - including an exchange in Milan - but hopes to pick up open water swimming now she is back in New Zealand.
St Kevin's College
JACK SINCLAIR
Now: Sinclair completed a medical degree and is a doctor in the psychiatry training programme. Based in Dunedin, he is not currently in a band but enjoys writing music and releases his work on SoundCloud.
SYDNEY TELFER
Now: Telfer no longer rows but continued with the sport at university, competing in the transtasman women’s eight and coaching. After completing a commerce degree and an applied science degree, majoring in environmental management, she is studying for a postgraduate diploma in regenerative agriculture through Southern Cross University in Australia. She is also on the Queenstown Lakes Council climate and biodiversity reference group. She plans to return to New Zealand later this year to establish an organic market garden in Wānaka and to look for work in the sustainability area.
St Peter's College
Then: As well as winning speech, drama and poetry awards, Burdon coached young gymnasts, and had won the school’s top scholar award two years in a row. She hoped to be a lawyer.
Now: While Burdon’s planned career would have seen her interpreting the law, she ended up as a policy professional who helps make the law. The Auckland woman works in MBIE’s competition policy team as a senior policy adviser and is currently leading policy and legislative development for the government’s recently-announced payment surcharge ban for in-store debit and credit transactions (including contactless ones). Previously, she led the ministry’s work advising the government on adding local government water services to the Commerce Act. She worked as a competitive women’s artistic gymnastics coach in Wellington for five years while studying for law and commerce degrees and continued coaching after graduation while she worked at Te Arawhiti: the Office for Maori Crown Relations.
SLADE O’CONNOR
Now: O’Connor played premier development rugby for Kaikorai but lost his enthusiasm for the sport after time on the sideline due to injury in 2019. He now spends his free time running, in the gym and competing in HYROX events that combine running and workout stations to test endurance. He has a bachelor of science, majoring in geography, and two New Zealand Level 4 certificates, one in drinking water treatment and the other, in irrigation system performance assessment. Based in Cromwell, he is part-owner and operations manager of Constructive Edge Water, which provides operations, maintenance and compliance support for private water suppliers and Three Waters asset owners.
South Otago High School
BAILEY LOURIE (NEE RUTTER)
Now: A small animal vet at South Waiarapa Veterinary Services, Lourie performed her first orthopaedic surgery a year ago - for cruciate ligament tears in the knee, which is common in dogs - and is looking forward to developing her skills in that area. The Carterton woman has continued to have success in showjumping, winning a North Island title and competing to horse grand prix level (1.4m-1.5m) with Henton Serenade. She also plays women’s hockey.
RORY VAN VUGT
Now: Van Vugt played his 50th game for the Southland Stags in August. He also had a brief stint with the Highlanders and has spent two off-seasons playing for Los Angeles in Major League Rugby. In the background, he is ‘‘chipping away’’ at a building apprenticeship and planning what career he wants to pursue post-rugby.
Taieri College
Then: A self-professed active relaxer, Clarke captained the Otago U18 girls’ water polo team, had won bronze at the South Island Secondary Schools triathlon, and was the school’s swimming and cross-country champion. After attending the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum, she was keen to study biomedical engineering and science.
Now: After spending much of her teenage years in the pool, Clarke feels like she has come ‘‘full circle’’ as she now works in the water sector. A senior hydro engineer and civil team leader at Beca in Christchurch, she leads a team of 11 civil engineers and the design of water projects such as pump stations and stormwater flood management facilities. She has a bachelor of natural resource engineering (1st class honours) and is a chartered professional engineer. She is no longer involved in water polo, swimming or athletics but enjoys netball and squash.
LIAM JOHNSTON
Now: Admitted to the Bar in 2021, Johnston is a senior lawyer at Downie Stewart in Dunedin, working mainly in court, in the areas of family and employment. As a teen, he wanted to be involved in international law or policy on a national level but being able to help people at a stressful time of their lives, such as the breakdown of a relationship or the loss of a job, is rewarding, he says. ‘‘Maybe I’ll use this experience to promote policy/law reform some day, but I quite enjoy improving people’s lives on the individual level.’’
The Catlins Area School
ESTHER MCLAY
Now: ‘‘I thought I was destined to be a teacher,’’ McLay says. ‘‘However, this was not the right path for me and instead, I studied a bachelor of counselling and then moved to the UK, where I am hoping to settle long-term.’’ While sorting out visas, she is working as a retail assistant in a farm shop in Bracknell, England. She no longer umpires netball but is still involved in music, through the worship team at her church.
Waitaki Boys' High School
ANGUS LIDDELL
Now: Liddell says he took ‘‘a bit of a scenic route’’ to his career goal, working as an oral health therapist in the public sector for four years before returning to the University of Otago to study dentistry. However, his experience of providing dental care to children and adolescents, including in community clinics in rural Northland, solidified that being a dentist is what he wants to do and that community/rural dentistry is his passion. He still plays the bagpipes but has not yet joined a band since moving back to the South Island.
AIDAN SCARLET
Now: After gaining a computer science degree and working in that field in the North Island, Scarlet is back in Dunedin and studying psychology with the hope of getting into clinical psychology in the next few years. He also works for the Community Care Trust, supporting youth with high and complex needs. Although he plays hockey socially, his main involvement in the sport is umpiring and officiating. An umpire for the Ford National Hockey Championship, he also helps develop young umpires locally and participated in the national hockey umpire coaching pilot programme this year.
Waitaki Girls' High School
HANNAH BALLANTYNE
Now: A senior engagement officer at the Christchurch City Council, Ballantyne leads public consultation and stakeholder engagement on projects where elected members need to understand community views before making decisions. She has arts and commerce degrees and is studying towards a master of public policy. ‘‘I hung up my school-building shoes after Nepal,’’ she says. ‘‘Since then, my volunteer efforts have been far less impressive - volunteering on clubs and associations. I also spend far more time on a tennis court than a football field now.’’
Wakatipu High School
CONNOR KENNEDY
Now: Kennedy will graduate with a medical degree this year and start work as a junior doctor at Tauranga Hospital in January. He started thinking about doing medicine as he finished high school and later graduated with a science degree majoring in anatomy. At present, he is working on a medical elective in rural Uganda, after which he plans to bike pack around Uganda and Kenya. He no longer rows and found competitive skiing too expensive to continue. However, he still enjoys skiing recreationally. Highlights from the past decade include attending a youth international science camp in London in 2017 and spending a year in Blenheim, where a rural health immersion placement opened his eyes to the ‘‘stark difference’’ in health equity between city and rural settings.
EMILY MOLLOY
Now: Molloy lives in Christchurch, where she is a civil engineer in the southern water team at Beca and involved in the design and construction monitoring of Three Waters infrastructure. She moved to the garden city to complete a bachelor of civil engineering, with honours, at the University of Canterbury. She still competes in running at a regional level but her focus in recent years has been on half-ironman triathlons, where she competes at an age-group world level.
Could not be contacted or declined to take part: Fraser Munro (Blue Mountain College), Kristal Roberts (Cromwell College), Olivia Ollerenshaw (East Otago High School), Rose McCulloch (Kaikorai Valley College), Philip Anderson (King’s High School), Noel Bisson and Kath Millis (Mt Aspiring College), Johnny Mottershead (Otago Boys’ High School), Christina Ashton (Queen’s High School), Nicholas Shaw and Terri Thomas (Tokomairiro High School), Naomi Saulala (Waitaki Girls’ High School).
— BY KIM DUNGEY
