Congratulations to our junior leadership group, and to our Premier Academic Award winner, Michael Lin.

The Year 10 Leaders for 2022 were announced at the first assembly in Term 4.  They were then paired up with a Prefect during the regular Monday interval meeting, in order to get a taste of the duties and tasks performed by our Senior Leadership group. Congratulations to our Junior Leaders, who will step in to lead the school once the seniors have departed on examination leave. 

Year 10 Leaders for 2022:

Alex Arnold, Aarav Bhatnagar, Alex Brown, Hadley Bryant, Matthew Colvin, Jonathan Crowther, Michael Crowther, Sam Gunn, Ayaan Harunani, Charlie Hawke, Jack Higgins, Nikash Lanka, Matthew Moloney, Devon Ormsby, Cooper Phillips, Thomas Priest, Jack Ramsey, Gurveer Randhawa, Ishi Singh, Tejveer Singh Randhawa, Joel Singleton, Dev Vansia, and Wyatt Wink.  Kia kaha!

Dux of 2022, Michael Lin

If you’ve been to enough Senior Prize Givings at HBHS, you can usually start making predictions as to who will win the top academic prize when the multiple subject award winners are named. This year was a little different, as there were multiple contenders sitting on the same number of Top in Subject awards. Having said that, the smart money should have always been on the candidate who finished top in both Year 11 and Year 12. This year, Michael Lin made it three from three when he was named as the Dux of HBHS for 2022. When his name was announced, he was both elated and relieved that all of the hard work done throughout the year had paid off. It was also a nerve-wracking time for Michael, as prize winners are not told what award they have won, until it is announced on stage. With COVID disrupting last year’s Prize Giving, Michael described it as a privilege to be standing alongside his peers as we celebrated all that had been achieved this year.

Michael’s teachers describe him as being exceptional, thoughtful, enthusiastic, excellent, eager to learn, attentive, conscientious, and a natural academic. Whilst these descriptions are truly outstanding and eminently deserved, they do tend to feature in the report comments of our HBHS Duces. What sets Michael apart are the attributes revealed by the teacher who probably knows him best, Mr Graham Nolan. As Teacher in Charge of Chess, Mr Nolan has worked with Michael since he joined the top Chess team as a Year 9 student. Of the eight National titles that have been on offer during Michael’s time in the Chess team, he has won five of them, and he has achieved a number of notable tournament wins over more fancied players. For a player of his calibre and with his intellect, there is not a trace of arrogance to be found. Instead there was a generous and giving spirit, always willing to spend his lunchtimes playing and coaching up-and-coming Chess players, and who gave freely of his expertise and knowledge to help anyone who asked. During his five years in the Chess team, Michael got on with everyone, and was unfailingly reliable in his support of the code, helping run the Chess Club and taking over when Mr Nolan fell ill with COVID. The two would communicate via text messages, with Michael using his initiative to juggle the team line-up when players were unavailable. The oft-used phrase, “never a bad word said about them”, in this rare instance absolutely applies, and without reservation.

When we asked him what his secret to success was, Michael emphasised the importance of setting goals and believing in your ability to achieve them, no matter what. Being named as Dux was something he set his sights on in Year 9, although he does say that it felt unreal to finally achieve a goal he set so long ago. According to Michael, the nature of competition means that this does not necessarily work all the time for everyone, but you become stronger through the process, regardless of the outcome. Simply wanting to become a better version of yourself is the purest form of motivation.

Next year Michael heads north of the Bombays to the University of Auckland to study Biomedical Science with a view to becoming a doctor. In the meantime he intends to enjoy some well-earned down time, unwinding by watching his favourite television shows and playing music. With his track record in setting goals and achieving them, we feel it’s safe to say that we will soon be referring to him as Dr Lin. Tino pai, Michael!