Where are they now? The ODT takes a look to see what the 2009 recipients of the Otago Daily Times Class Act award have been doing since leaving high school.
Bayfield High School
2009: Was head boy, had won various duathlons and mountain bike races and was in the Otago road cycling team. He planned to study carpentry.
2019: Is the owner and manager of JN Carpentry Ltd, a Dunedin firm that works mainly on residential renovations, new home builds and small commercial projects. Notman, who has a national certificate in carpentry, is no longer involved in competitive cycling but rides as a hobby.
ROXANNE WHITE
2009: Was head girl, co-captain of the senior A netball team and part of a major push to make her school more environmentally sustainable. She hoped to study physiotherapy and commerce.
2019: A chartered accountant, White works in the forecasting and analysis team of an asset management company in London. She played social netball for four years after high school but is now focused on long-distance running. Last year she achieved a personal best marathon time, which qualified her for next year's London Marathon. She also plans to run her first trail marathon race later this year.
Blue Mountain College
2009: Was in the Otago secondary schools girls' rugby team, heavily involved in the performing arts and deputy chairwoman of the Clutha District Youth Council. She was considering joining the navy, becoming a chef or studying human nutrition.
2019: Deciding to study for a diploma in culinary arts instead of a degree in nutrition resulted in Crawford working in the UK as a commis chef and owning her own cafe by the age of 23. She opened Top Nosh Cafe in Tapanui with a friend four years ago. She is also on the West Otago Theatrical Society committee, performing in its shows and working in online promotion. She played for the University of Otago women's rugby team while at Otago Polytechnic. Knee surgery kept her out of the sport for a few years but she hopes to play again next season.
2009: Had represented Eastern Southland in netball and tennis, been the school's premier scholar and captained its senior basketball team. She planned to study marketing and psychology.
2019: Venz lives in Sydney and is a brand manager for McPherson's Consumer Products, a supplier of health, beauty and household items. She has a commerce degree (majoring in marketing) and a science degree (psychology). In 2016, while completing her graduate programme at Elgas, she was nominated for the "rising star" category of the Women in Industry Awards in Australia. The awards recognise the achievements of women working in the mining, engineering, manufacturing, process control and commercial road transport industries. No longer involved in netball or basketball, she instead enjoys cycling and recently resumed playing social tennis.
Columba College
2009: Was head prefect, in the Otago-Southland debating team, school tennis captain and earned two academic Blues. She planned to study law and neuroscience.
2019: Marsh recently left her role as commercialisation associate at the Kiwi Innovation Network - a group of public research organisations working together to transform scientific discoveries into marketable products and services - to focus on an experiential programme she co-founded. The Social Experiment is a two-day course that combines mindset coaching and entrepreneurial pedagogy to enable participants to tackle social, environmental and business issues. She is also developing The Good Portal, a searchable website designed to increase visibility and reduce duplication of not-for-profits. Marsh, who plans to move overseas some time in the next year, holds a bachelor of laws and a bachelor of science majoring in neuroscience. She previously worked at a large corporate law firm, founded a start-up that was the supreme winner in the University of Otago's Audacious entrepreneurship challenge and was a consultant and board member at Ignite Consultants, an organisation that places students into consultant roles with non-profits. She created Narrative Imperative, a writing competition on the UN's sustainable development goals and was selected for Unleash, a programme that gathers 1000 people annually to collaborate on solutions to meet the same objectives. She also launched The Now Crowd, a community of young professionals driving sustainability in their workplaces.
2009: Held seven New Zealand and 13 South Island wrestling titles and had won gold at the Down Under Games and the Australia Cup. She hoped to study commerce and computer science.
2019: The girl who would study for exams between wrestling matches now has an honours degree in computer science and is a software developer in Brighton in the UK. Todd won more than 20 national titles in wrestling and grappling. She occasionally still trains but says with work and injuries, this is "fairly infrequent".
Cromwell College
2009: Was deputy head boy, involved in freestyle BMX and had been a Central Otago soccer representative and an Otago snow sports competitor. He planned to continue biking and to study either surveying or engineering.
2019: After spending a year as an aviation forecaster, Ferris now works at MetService in Wellington as a communications meteorologist. He has a bachelor of science (physics major) and was among the first master of meteorology students to graduate from Victoria University. The former Cromwell man was involved in the BMX scene in Melbourne in his early 20s and after graduation moved to Austin, Texas where he was sponsored by BMX company Cult (see Cultcrew/Lewis Ferris on YouTube for a video filmed for Cult in 2016). In the past two years, he has spent more time on film photography (35mm and medium format), shooting at least a single photo every day and posting them to Instagram under the username @datestamped. He has been involved in a group exhibition, and has also sold a number of prints.
Dunstan High School
2009: Was head girl and in both the New Zealand secondary schools' softball development team and the New Zealand secondary school's netball identification squad. She had not finalised her plans for the future.
2019: Enright lives in London and works for Teach First, a charity tackling educational inequality in England and Wales. She works in the marketing and communications department's creative team and also does some freelance design work. She graduated with a bachelor of applied science (honours), majoring in design for technology (first class) and a bachelor of arts, majoring in design studies. She plays netball in social leagues and coaches children's netball but is waiting until she returns home to pick up the softball bat again.
2009: Was in the New Zealand Chemistry Olympiad team, had achieved NCEA level 3 with merit while still in year 12, and had been a Maadi Cup bronze medallist. He planned to study engineering.
2019: Lewis is a software developer at the University of Melbourne's Climate and Energy College, helping develop the latest version of a simple climate model which is used to generate projections about how the world will look over the next 100 years. His role is to help the scientists write better code. Before moving to Australia, he helped establish the Centre for Space Science Technology (now called Xerra). He holds a bachelor of engineering (mechatronics) and a masters of engineering management.
East Otago High School
2009: Was head girl and had played representative volleyball, basketball and hockey. She wanted to study something related to geography or tourism.
2019: As a communications adviser with the Waimakariri District Council, Matchett is part of a team that works to improve community awareness and understanding of the council's work programme and to elicit community participation. Her role has a digital focus, maintaining website, intranet and social platforms. After gaining a bachelor of tourism management, she taught English in South Korea before returning to New Zealand to put her degree to use. Her first job was at Tourism Waitaki where she represented the region at several offshore marketing events and in her first year was named employee of the year. Having recently moved to Rangiora, she has not yet joined any sports clubs but enjoys running, hiking, biking and going to the gym.
Gore High School
2009: Had gained grade eight awards in piano and dance and was in the trio which won the 2007 Southland Secondary Schools' Chamber Music Competition. She planned to take a gap year in Canada before deciding on a study path.
2019: Cox is an audiologist who works mainly with children. She spends three days a week at Triton Hearing in Christchurch and two days a week at Timaru Hospital, testing people's hearing and fitting hearing aids. The Christchurch woman teaches her niece and nephews piano and sometimes plays piano at her church. She has a bachelor of music and a masters in audiology.
2009: Was in the Southland under-19 golf team, Southland development golf team and Eastern Southland senior men's hockey team. He planned to study mechanical engineering.
2019: Working with a helicopter company involved in filming the Hobbit movies in Queenstown was an "eye-opening" experience for Rome, who has a bachelor of engineering technology (mechanical). For the past six years, he has been on the family farm at Riversdale, working alongside his parents and gradually taking over more of the responsibility that goes with running the business. He still plays hockey for a local club; playing golf is a rare occurrence but he enjoys getting on the course when he can.
John McGlashan College
2009: Was head prefect, had finished second in the 2007 New Zealand cross-country and was the 2008-09 Athletics Otago male winter athlete of the year. He intended to study geography before joining the police force.
2019: Garry is Fonterra's territory sales manager for the east Auckland region. He has a bachelor of applied science (environmental science) and a master of business management. He previously worked in Central Otago as a technical field officer for Farmlands Co-operative. He still races occasionally but spends more time enjoying fishing, jet boating and golf.
2009: Had taken lead roles in many of the school's productions and was a 48-Hour Film Festival finalist. He planned to study psychology, economics, English and German at university but hoped to make acting his career.
2019: Only 10 when he secured the leading role of Mowgli in the Fortune Theatre's production of The Jungle Book, Taylor went on to work in the performing arts and broadcasting. He was a 2017 NZ Radio Awards nominee (in the best promotion category), winner of the 2016 Neilson Gifted Award for an emerging MC, the 2018 Northern Area Performance Theatre Awards winner for best leading actor in a musical and a 2018 Gold Guitars finalist. He still acts occasionally but his job is now team leader for the Auckland Sexual Health Services education unit. This has seen him run a youth-led sexual health peer support programme in 23 Auckland high schools and co-ordinate a national health promotion response to the syphilis epidemic. He is also a wedding celebrant and co-runs an urban beekeeping business, Bee Boys NZ. He holds a certificate in public health from Massey University.
Kaikorai Valley College
2009: Was regularly performing with the Dunedin Youth Orchestra, the Southern Sinfonia Academy and the Southern Youth Choir and had had his compositions recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He planned to study music and Japanese.
2019: Newall is a software developer at Radium NZ in Petone and still composing music. He has a bachelor of music with first-class honours (in composition and performance piano), and a bachelor of arts majoring in computer science. He won the Philip Neill Memorial Prize in music, a composition competition open to past and present students of New Zealand universities, in 2012 and 2018 (the same person can only win it every five years). His 2018 entry was a two-piano composition, #babylife, which he wrote while caring for his baby daughter and which he will perform at Dunedin's St Paul's Cathedral on September 29. In 2013, he made an album-symphony hybrid with singing and rapping for his composition honours project and in 2015, gave a concert at Sir James Wallace's art gallery with former Otago university Mozart Fellow Robbie Ellis. Performing in a variety of places over the past decade had been exhilarating but after being in the lowest tax bracket for so long, he has let music take a background role, he says.
2009: Was head girl, a 40-Hour Famine leader and a Christian Group student leader. She hoped to oversee community development projects in Third World countries.
2019: An international programmes specialist at Tearfund New Zealand, Paterson-Lima works with community development partner organisations to deliver programmes in India, Nepal and Indonesia. Her monitoring work often involves travelling to remote, hard-to-reach communities. Last year, for example, she led Tearfund to support its local partner in an emergency response to an earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, and earlier this year she saw what had been achieved there. A Pacific Women's Watch New Zealand board member since 2014, Paterson-Lima was recently appointed its international secretary. She also does volunteer work with her church in Auckland. She has a bachelor of arts in geography and a master of arts (first-class honours) in development studies.
Kavanagh College
2009: Was sports prefect, had competed in football's Milk Cup in Ireland with the Otago youth development squad and excelled at maths. He planned to study architecture or physics.
2019: Cromb gained a bachelor of science with first-class honours in physics and is now a data scientist with IBM in Wellington. He plays football for the Brooklyn Northern United Football Club. Last year he captained the men's first team and was awarded "most valuable player" and "players' player".
2009: Was cultural prefect, a volunteer in the IHC Buddy Programme and played saxophone, clarinet, piano, guitar and tuba in various ensembles. He hoped to become a doctor.
2019: A GP registrar in Leeston, Penno is training in both rural hospital medicine and general practice. After completing his medical degree, he did a postgraduate diploma in child health. Registrar positions in paediatrics and neonatal intensive care were highlights of four years working for the Canterbury District Health Board. He is now studying towards a postgraduate diploma in rural and provincial hospital practice. He still plays music but only at home as a creative outlet as his variable timetable makes it difficult to play in a band.
King's High School
2009: Was head boy, a top scholar and captained the 1st XV rugby and 1st XI cricket teams. He planned to study medicine and further his rugby career.
2019: Johnston studied health sciences for a semester but quickly realised he wasn't interested. During his studies he happened upon something he was and the more he learned, the more passionate he became about zoology and conservation, in particular. He holds a bachelor of science (zoology major), a postgraduate diploma in wildlife management (with distinction) and a postgraduate diploma in sustainable aquaculture (distinction). He recently finished an internship with the IndoOcean Project in Nusa Penida, Indonesia, where he trained as a divemaster and research diver while helping with marine conservation research. Before this, he held various conservation roles in New Zealand and was a research and development scientist for Shellfish Production and Technology New Zealand, a primary growth project in Nelson. A series of rugby injuries forced him to give up rugby and cricket but not before he had played 50 games for the Green Island premier team. Since then, he has put more time into distance and trail running, with top-10 finishes in both the Wellington Marathon and Motatapu ultra-marathon.
2009: Was deputy head boy, had taken lead roles in various school productions, choreographed its Stage Challenge and was a New Zealand under-19 volleyball triallist. He wanted to study at the School of Performing Arts in Wellington.
2019: Manu is a full-time musician who recently moved to Brisbane after four years on Australia's Gold Coast. The loop artist gigs four to five nights a week at venues in Brisbane and Surfers Paradise, also giving vocal and guitar lessons from his home studio. He and his wife Jade have their own business, Manu Music, and perform with other band members at weddings and corporate events. For the past three years, they have headlined Brisbane's Riverfire Festival. The only time Manu has played volleyball in recent years was in 2017, when a team made up of friends and family won the open men's grade in the northern Gold Coast volleyball competition. With two children and another on the way, he says the greatest blessing in his life is being a father and a husband: "Family is the most important thing to me and my biggest achievement."
Lawrence Area School
2009: Was head boy, a volunteer firefighter and a member of the Southern Area School under-18 rugby team. He planned to become an accountant.
2019: A career firefighter in Dunedin, Dickey says that even before he had left school, he'd decided he didn't want to be "stuck inside anymore" and accounting was not an option. When he applied to to join the Fire Service, he was advised to gain some life skills first, so completed the level 4 certificate in carpentry and spent several years working as a builder. "I'm really glad I did [a trade]," he says. "I've learned a lot of transferable skills from building that come in handy as a firefighter and do quite a bit of work for Lawrence builder Sam Chapman on my days off ." In 2017, Dickey designed a gold-pan inspired drinking fountain which was installed in Lawrence's main street. He continues to turn out when he can for the Waitahuna Volunteer Fire Brigade that he joined at 16 and has climbed the Auckland Sky Tower four times in full fire-fighting kit and breathing apparatus to raise money for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand. Although he planned to play rugby for Lawrence this year, the town was not able to field a team.
Logan Park High School
2009: Was in the top 2% in the 2008 Australian Chemistry Quiz, in the top 15 of the 2009 Eton Press Casio Senior Mathematics Competition, studying first-year calculus and algebra at university and playing trombone in the school jazz band. He planned to study science and maths at university.
2019: Lamont is studying towards a PhD in statistics at the University of Otago. As part of this, he is modelling genetic quality in livestock, looking to improve prediction accuracy compared to existing methods. After high school, he completed a bachelor of science in chemistry and a bachelor of science (first class honours) in statistics. Although he has not had the time to commit to music in recent years, he is still doing plenty of mathematics, he says. "I'm actually tutoring math170 this semester, which I sat myself in my last year of high school."
Maniototo Area School
Cobie Stringer, then 20, died in March 2012 when the car in which he was a passenger failed to take a bend on the Ranfurly-Patearoa road and rolled. Friends described him as a talented artist and sportsman, and a young man with huge potential and mana. Mr Stringer, along with fellow Class Act recipient Bethany Summers, helped set up a youth centre in Ranfurly and helped facilitate youth workshops with Dots Communication facilitator Amy Scott in Roxburgh, Alexandra and Queenstown. The workshops aimed to teach young people effective communication skills for the future. He represented the South Island in rugby and volleyball, received a Manu Pounamu scholarship in 2008 and was the school's head boy in 2009. Carving and painting gave him the opportunity to express himself in much the same way as he had been able to on the sports field. He designed the sign for the Ranfurly youth centre and the logo for Stringer Shearing. His Maori heritage was also important to him. After studying art at Otago Polytechnic, he decided to take a break and earn some money. The crash that claimed his life happened only a few weeks after he had joined the ranks at his family's shearing company. Ms Scott described him as as a quiet leader who inspired many and said his loss was devastating: "He was a hard worker who was liked by everyone ... and in his short life, had a profound effect on many people."
2009: Was a head pupil, a founder of the Maniototo Community Youth Centre and named the South Island area schools' most valuable netballer. She hoped to become a teacher.
2019: Summers teaches year 7 and 8 pupils at Clyde Primary School, also coaching the school's hockey team at that level. Her first teaching job was in Fox Glacier and she was later assistant principal at Hinds Primary School. She plays for the Cromwell B netball team and is still passionate about Central Otago's youth. "I'd love to be involved in something to support them and the issues they face in today's society," she says.
Mt Aspiring College
2009: Was one of the school's academic achievers and involved in skiing, sailing and rowing. She hoped to get into medicine or microbiology.
2019: Cashen graduated with a bachelor of medicine and surgery and bachelor of medical science (hons) and works for Capital and Coast District Health Board as a junior doctor. She still skis and does some sailing but no longer has the time for small boat sailing or rowing.
KATARINA SCHWARZ
2019: Combating contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking is a priority for Schwarz, who is associate director of the law and policy programme in the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham. She is also assistant professor of antislavery law and policy in the school of law. After gaining a bachelor of arts (theatre studies major) and a bachelor of laws with honours (first class), she moved to the UK in 2015 to do a PhD in law.
Otago Boys' High School
2009: Played clarinet with the Southern Sinfonia, was co-lead violinist with the NZ Secondary Schools Symphony Orchestra and won the Otago Regional Chamber Music Competition with Trio Martinu. He planned to study health sciences and music.
2019: Pyun has a bachelor of medicine and surgery and is a general practice registrar based in Methven. He plays violin with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and counts performing at the town hall reopening concert in March as a recent personal highlight.
2009: Was in the NZ under-19 world cup cricket squad, the Otago under-19 cricket team and the Otago under-18 hockey team. He hoped to forge a career as a professional cricketer.
2019: Soper played for the Otago Volts in the Plunket Shield four-day competition in the 2012/13 season and was contracted the following season. He studied information science at university but lost interest as cricket took over. In 2014, when a shoulder injury and surgery left him unsure if he would be able to play again, he did a pre-trade automotive engineering course. He is now an apprentice diesel mechanic at Fulton Hogan in Dunedin. He plays for Green Island in the local club competition and also played for Otago last season.
Otago Girls' High School
2009: Was head prefect, won the Otago Regional Race Unity Speech Competition and captained the school's senior A debating team and senior A basketball team. She intended to study law and psychology.
2019: Brown is a senior adviser at the Office of the Children's Commissioner, where she leads the Mai World Child and Youth Voices work - a national mechanism through which children and young people can exercise their right to have a say in matters that affect them. She has a bachelor of laws and a bachelor of arts (politics and history), was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court and has completed a postgraduate certificate in children's issues. She is now studying towards a masters of law on children's participation rights across different legal settings. Last year, she was a New Zealand delegate and youth sector expert at the International Community Core Leaders Forum, an exchange of knowledge on youth, older people's and disability issues (see sidebar).
2009: Was academic prefect, had won the Lower South Island Rotary speech competition, was involved in various humanitarian activities and was an accomplished pianist and trumpet player who had performed with the Dunedin Youth Orchestra. She planned to study medicine.
2019: Formerly a doctor at Whangarei Hospital, Diong is spending this year travelling. At present, she is a visiting doctor at the Hyperbaric Medical Centre in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, where she treats patients who have had diving accidents, including decompression illness, arterial gas embolisms and stings from marine creatures. She is also doing part-time study in machine learning. She holds a bachelor of medicine and surgery and a bachelor of medical sciences with honours. During her time at university, she started and ran 100Percent, a non-profit organisation that saw students raise money for causes of their choice by volunteering their time as tutors. She still plays the piano and trumpet but not in any official groups like she did in her school days.
Queen's High School
2009: Was head girl, on the Model United Nations Assembly and involved in humanitarian activities. She wanted to become fluent in German and to study law and social anthropology.
2019: Hosking uses German daily, working for a leading European energy trading company in Essen, Germany. As a legal counsel at RWE Supply & Trading GmbH, she advises the business on compliance with regulations and exchange rules. Hosking holds a bachelor of laws (honours) and a bachelor of arts in language linguistics (German). She has competed internationally in legal mooting competitions and while at Russell McVeagh in New Zealand, worked with the social enterprise sector. During this time she was seconded to the Akina Foundation and helped write Structuring for Impact, a report that found that currently available legal structures were disadvantaging social enterprises.
Roxburgh Area School
2009: Was head pupil, had played for the South Island and NZ Area Schools rugby team and was the school's senior boys swimming and cross-country champion. He planned to undertake tertiary study.
2019: A civil engineer and a project manager with Fulton Hogan in Queenstown, Tumai has a bachelor of applied science (environmental management) and a bachelor of engineering technology (civil). Infrastructure projects he has recently worked on include water and wastewater projects at Frankton, and the Lake Dunstan water and wastewater project (Clyde to Alexandra). When concussions ruled him out of playing rugby, recreational sport took over - he enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, touch and social hockey and completed the Coast to Coast multisport event this year.
St Hilda's Collegiate School
2009: Had won South Island open pole vault and open high jump titles, was in the Otago secondary schools rugby team and had completed a business management paper at polytechnic. She planned to study commerce.
2019: Rugged sandstone formations and savannah grasslands make up Bell's workplace. After working as a tour guide in New Zealand and completing her commercial helicopter licence, she moved to Queensland, Australia, to do helicopter mustering. She is now the alternate chief pilot for an outback holiday destination, taking scenic flights over an ancient geological formation called Cobbold Gorge. She has a bachelor of applied science and while she is no longer involved in athletics or rugby, she still enjoys keeping fit.
2009: Had been in the Otago debating team, won an outstanding scholarship in the Scholarship English exam and completed history and politics papers at university level. She intended to study law and politics.
2019: Lawrence says her plans have changed since she was 17 - she is no longer interested in being a politician but would love to be a judge one day. An associate at Greg Kelly Law, in Wellington, she advises on trust and estate issues and acts on a significant amount of the firm's litigation. She also presents regularly at conferences, and is a contributing author to Mental Capacity Law and Practice in New Zealand. She has a bachelor of laws (with first class honours) and a bachelor of arts (politics).
St Kevin's College
2009: Was head girl, captain of the senior A basketball and senior B netball teams and studying university-level papers. She wanted to study physiotherapy.
2019: Joyce is a senior physiotherapist and clinic manager for TBI Health in Mount Maunganui. She is also undertaking postgraduate study in vocational rehabilitation through the University of Otago via distance learning. She was a top 10 female finisher in the 2014 Wellington marathon and the following year completed the 100km Oxfam walk in 25 hours. She still plays netball, at a social level.
2009: Was in the first XV rugby team, had passed grade eight exams in piano and speech, was a member of the winning 2008 senior Bishops Shield debating team and was studying two university papers. He intended to study engineering.
2019: Kearney holds a bachelor of engineering and is studying for a bachelor of science, majoring in maths and statistics, at the University of Canterbury. The former maths teacher says the biggest challenge in math education is to overcome the public perception of maths as boring and as a talent that only a few people are born with: "Mathematics is really just reasoning about patterns, something that everyone can do, although we might need to find different ways to teach it."
St Peter's College
2009: Was an Eastern Southland basketball representative, a Southland netball rep and attended the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum. She planned to study health sciences or biochemistry.
2019: A private practice physiotherapist working with musculoskeletal and sports injuries, Hunter says she is lucky to have combined her passion for sport and science into her job. This mostly entails working in a clinic in the north of Brisbane but she is also involved with a university women's rugby 7s team, which she accompanied to the Suzuka Tournament in Hokkaido, Japan. As well as graduating with a bachelor of physiotherapy (with distinction), Hunter was a dean's list recipient at the end of her degree. Her first job was as a contract physiotherapist for the NZ Army. She is now studying for a graduate certificate in sports physiotherapy through La Trobe University, Melbourne, with the aim of getting into the masters of sports physiotherapy programme. Although she stays in touch with sport through her job, she has not played netball in recent years due to work commitments.
South Otago High School
2009: Was head girl, a South Island swimming representative, in the school's top netball team and a surf lifesaver with an inflatable rescue boat (IRB) crewman award. She wanted to be a primary or PE teacher.
2019: Botting won three medals - two silvers and a bronze - in IRB events at the world surf lifesaving champs in 2014 and the following year was named Otago University sportswoman of the year. Before this, she worked as a swim specialist at a day camp in New York. She plays netball for a local club and plans to resume surf lifesaving when her son, Liam, is older. The Balclutha woman helps out on the family farm that is owned by her parents and managed by her fiance, and is a relief teacher at Balclutha Primary School. She holds a bachelor of education studies endorsed in physical education and a graduate diploma in primary teaching.
2009: Was in the Southern Region and Otago Country under-18 rugby teams, the school's 1st XV rugby team, 1st XI cricket team and 1st XI soccer team and was the Clinton Squash Club's B-grade champion in 2007 and 2008. He hoped to either study health sciences or to become an air force pilot.
2019: A series of back injuries forced Telford to give up on a number of sporting pursuits but he was a member of the Otago University Squash Club committee for four years and is playing again this year. He holds a bachelor of science majoring in physics and physiology and is employed by the Canterbury District Health Board at Christchurch Hospital as a radiation oncology medical physics registrar. This year he is studying full-time at the University of Canterbury towards a masters of science majoring in medical physics. He will then work part-time for two years as he writes his thesis, followed by two further years of training before he is a fully qualified radiation oncology medical physicist. His main job will be to ensure the safety of patients and staff during the use of radiation to treat cancer, through quality assurance on the treatment machines and checking of treatment plans.
Taieri College
2009: Was head prefect, in the school's senior A basketball, senior A volleyball and 1st XV rugby teams and was first in geography. He planned to study history and geography at university.
2019: Dalton did not study history at university but his interest in the natural environment has only increased and he is now studying towards a PhD in geology at the University of Melbourne. His research is focused on a type of igneous volcanic rock called kimberlites - the principal host rocks to diamonds, which also carry fragments of the mantle called xenoliths. Because of their super-deep origins, they provide a window through which to examine the evolution of the Earth's mantle. He also has an active role in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) outreach and mentoring programmes to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers. After completing his bachelor of science (honours, first class), majoring in geology and physical geography, and graduating top of his class, Dalton worked as a science/chemistry teacher at a London high school. He stopped playing rugby at that point because teaching and travelling left too little time for training.
2009: Was head prefect, in the school's senior A basketball, volleyball and netball teams, had been in the Bush Road South Island Netball Tournament team in 2008 and excelled in sciences. She hoped to have a career in nutrition or laboratory sciences.
2019: Doing a doctoral degree was never on Ward-Hartstonge's radar. However, during her first year at the University of Otago, she "fell in love" with immunology and met two influential people - Prof Frank Griffin and Dr Roslyn Kemp - who gave her the confidence to pursue a PhD. She is now a postdoctoral research fellow at the British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute in Vancouver, studying immune cells in childhood diseases. The two trials she is currently working on involve recently diagnosed type one diabetes patients being treated with a drug that may halt or reverse their disease, and people with inflammatory bowel disease being treated with a drug to stop bad cells going to the gut where they cause problems. While completing her PhD in Dr Kemp's laboratory, she and her fellow researchers discovered a population of immune cells that were associated with better survival in patients with colorectal cancer. Her recent achievements include being a guest editor in Clinical and Translational Immunology and being awarded postdoctoral fellowships from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Long, unpredictable work hours mean she no longer plays competitive sport, but she enjoys social sport and going to the gym.
The Catlins Area School
2009: Was joint head pupil, a member of the Clutha District Youth Council, held a grade eight certificate in ballet and had travelled to Japan after receiving the Tokiwa Scholarship. She planned to study history or law and English at university.
2019: A solicitor at Chapman Tripp in Wellington, McPhee works in the firm's construction, infrastructure and property team helping clients deliver a range of commercial projects. This year her work has included advising on affordable housing developments, the construction of new offices, schools and wind farms, securing commercial leases and helping clients navigate Overseas Investment Office applications. She holds a bachelor of arts (history) and a bachelor of laws (honours).
Tokomairiro High School
2009: Was a prefect, a University of Otago Hands on Science participant and active in hiking, orienteering and athletics. In year 9 he won the school's science fair with a life-size hovercraft. He planned to become a civil engineer.
2019: Smith is production and procurement planner at VinPro in Cromwell. Responsible for the scheduling of many of Central Otago's wine bottlings, he also organises the procurement of the dry goods needed to get the wine from tank to bottle. He joined the wine services company after graduating with a bachelor of commerce (operations and supply chain management) and a bachelor of science (majoring in psychology).
Waitaki Boys' High School
2009: Deputy head boy and vice-captain of the 1st XI soccer team, Friedlander had won a Southland magazine cover design award and exhibited his art in the Forrester Gallery. He planned to study graphic design, computer science, architecture or building science.
2019: Attending a computer science presentation at the University of Otago open day in his final year of high school changed Friedlander's decision about what he would be "when he grew up". He went on to complete a bachelor of science (majoring in computer science, with a minor in design and software engineering) and now works for New Zealand company Agility CIS in Dubai. As a service delivery manager, he develops, tests and manages air-conditioning billing software in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Before transferring to Dubai two years ago, he worked for the company in Auckland, Houston and Melbourne. Friedlander gave up soccer after an injury but continues his interest in art, particularly photography. Landscape and architectural photos taken during his travels can be seen at https://500px.com/heathfriedlander.
2009: Was head boy, played for the North Otago senior men's Hawke Cup cricket team and won the school history prize in both year 11 and year 12. He hoped to become a history and English teacher.
2019: Horrell is head of the English department at Christchurch Boys' High School. He won the Hawke Cup with the North Otago cricket team in 2010 and 2016 and captained the Heathcote Cricket Club team which was recently promoted to the top grade of the Christchurch club competition. He has a bachelor of arts with honours (English) and a masters of teaching and learning (secondary), both from Otago.
Waitaki Girls' High School
2009: Was head girl, captain of the 1st XI soccer team, a guitar teacher and excelled academically. She hoped to join a friend working in a school and hospital in the Congo, then study health sciences.
2019: Leason is a junior doctor on a paediatrics ward in Wellington and enrolled in the College of Rural Hospital Medicine with a view to becoming a rural GP or rural hospital physician. After leaving school, she spent seven months helping in a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She then moved to Dunedin to study for her bachelor of medicine and surgery, taking time out in 2016 to live in a Christian monastery near Waikanae. She and her husband live in an urban Christian community that supports people who are homeless or going through difficult times. She continues to play music and enjoys busking informally with friends.
2009: Was deputy head girl, a Waitaki District Youth Council member and had completed her grade eight speech exams with honours. She wanted to be a primary school teacher.
2019: McCulloch is a teacher who works in a collaborative teaching and learning space at Methven Primary School and has a home class of year 6 children. Last year she travelled solo to Nepal where she completed an Everest Base Camp trek and volunteered to help build a school classroom. In 2017, she worked as a governess on a sheep and cattle station in the New South Wales outback, helping children with their correspondence work and sometimes lending a hand with farm duties such as drafting cattle and fencing. "Losing a close friend in a car accident at age 23 was a huge reminder that, while we are able to, we should be doing something we enjoy, with people who make us happy," she says.
Wakatipu High School
2009: Had taken a principal lead role in Showbiz Queenstown's production of Les Miserables, was in the schools' senior A netball team and excelled in music and science. She hoped to go to performing arts college, then to Europe.
2019: A production vocalist with Princess Cruises, Burns performs on cruise ships with other singers and musicians from around the world. Rehearsals are held in Los Angeles, where she spends six weeks learning up to five different shows. At present, her home is Crown Princess. After graduating with a bachelor of performing arts degree from the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art, her musical theatre engagements included playing Eva Peron in the 2016 Showbiz Christchurch production of Evita.
Declined to take part
Caitlin Miller (Logan Park), Emily Berryman (Queen's), Anna Paterson (St Peter's), Allan O'Sullivan (Tokomairiro) and Ali Macharg (Wakatipu).
Did not respond by deadline
Sean Knight (Cromwell College) and Justin Lobb (East Otago High School).
