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Amelia MacDonald
 
Photo by Alan Voyce

Rangatira: Amelia MacDonald

Anna James —

Amelia MacDonald is our BHS Head Māori leader. Her thoughts on inspiring others to pursue their dreams in leadership.

Amelia Macdonald is the Head Māori lLader and Head Prefect at Burnside High School for 2019. Amelia is involved in various activities and events, which are academic, cultural and sport. To many other young adults, Amelia is seen as a role model and an inspiration because of her leadership style, persistence and the principles she lives by. To her, “Honest teamwork is the biggest principle I live by. People being honest with themselves and their peers is vital for overall success. By working together, delegating, communicating and cooperating, teamwork can has the greatest chance of achieving anything”.

Head Māori leader and Head Prefect are large responsibilities and may seem very daunting to other people looking at those positions. Because of this, having someone like Amelia in these positions is encouraging and inspiring. It allows younger students of all backgrounds and nationalities to feel and think that they too can have similar leadership roles within the school. Amelia was asked if this was something she had always wanted to do and she said “This is definitely a goal I have wanted to achieve since I was younger, specifically in my junior years at BHS. I had my first taste of leadership in year 6 when I was announced Head Girl and Head of Student Council at Windsor Primary. This sparked me to embrace my leadership qualities in the following years. This resulted in me becoming Head Girl at Chisnallwood Intermediate. Leadership has played a big part in my life and has been something I have been passionate about in my younger years.” This shows us that with persistence and hard work, we can achieve our dreams.

Along with such leadership roles, comes responsibility. It can be hard work trying to juggle life and school but the most important thing you can do is find a balance. It is important to know that you don’t have to spend every second of every day studying to achieve great things and Amelia demonstrates this by admitting “ trying to juggle all of these aspects does prove to be difficult, but finding a way to incorporate all of these things together is my way of making it easier. I am very lucky to work with some very cool people, I also get my friends to study with me when we are all in the middle of an internal but I also make sure I am able to see my friends without any school work attached, watching sports or hanging out in the weekends.” Everyone is able to learn something from Amelia, which is what makes her so inspiring.

Lastly, there is one last message that Amelia believes every other student would benefit from hearing whether they know now that they want a leadership role or have haven’t thought about it. The message it, “ never ever underestimate yourself. There is a hidden power that you may not realise yet. Although New Zealand is renowned for Tall Poppy Syndrome, embrace all the skills and accolades that you have achieved and own them. Push yourself to your limits but take time out for yourself. Do it only if it makes you happy and it is okay to say no.”