Congratulations to Maia Robertson, who has now been awarded this prestigious award for the second year running.

Well done, Maia! Can you tell me about what has motivated you in your Pathways option over the past two years?

Long term I would love to work with animals if there is a chance. In an ideal world I would love to work with Doc, particularly with native birds. During Outward Bound in January this year, we sailed around Motuara island in the middle of Queen Charlotte Sounds, where conservationists are rearing the rare Rowi Kiwi. There are lots of predator-free offshore islands where they can raise endangered species. I would find this vocation rewarding.

Last year I did a number of animal welfare courses through SIT. To build on this in Year 13, I chose some distance university level courses with NMIT. Doc offer a course through NMIT but that was full time. I wanted to find something I could balance with school work so opted for online distance courses in my final year at school. I successfully completed a course on New Zealand conservation and another on outdoor risk management. For enjoyment, I took a course on dinosaur paleontology that was offered by Coursera. My Biology teacher, Mrs Graves, gave me the idea to look at what they had to offer.

Where to from here? 

It is exciting to get the award again this year and the money will be helpful towards my future studies. Next year I want to go to Otago University to study Zoology.

I encourage other students to branch out from traditional pathways if they have a strong interest in something outside of the school curriculum. There are other learning pathways to venture into if you have independent drive and enthusiasm.