Graduation for the Graeme Dingle Foundation Project K 2018/19 cohort went off with a bang!

It was held in the beautiful Rehua New Education Building at the University of Canterbury. This was the first time most of the students had been at the University, and it gave them the opportunity to see where they could be in a few years.

With an amazing korero from Hollie Woodhouse from The Adventurous Kiwi, Hollie shared her inspiring story of how she crossed a 560-kilometre trek across the Greenland ice, taking 29 days in temperatures as low as -36.

Hollie's journey was with Antarctic Heritage Trust whose mission is to conserve, share, and encourage, the spirit of exploration in young people and that is exactly what Hollie's story did. Her story encourages youngsters in the room with the message that life can take you anywhere as long as you are willing to push yourself in the right direction and take every opportunity given. Check out Hollie's blog to read more about her amazing journey.

https://www.holliewoodhouse.com/blog/crossing-the-greenland-ice-cap

The evening then followed on with Lisa Mead from Social Currency Investments who shared her story of how her accounting firm is bound by an ethical code of conduct, and is accountable for what it does when providing professional services. Transparency, integrity, economy, openness, fairness, competition and accountability, are some of the fundamental principles of procurement that they embrace. Economic responsibility has the capacity to create social change and that is where professional service providers and business owners can choose to raise the bar.

https://www.socialcurrency.co.nz

And to finish off the night Mark Smith spoke about his journey on the very first Project K program here in Christchurch some 16 years ago. Mark is now a mentor for Ryan from this year’s Project K and is very keen to give back as much support as he was given 16 years again as he has no doubt it changed his life and for the better. Mark said several times he knows his life would have been completely different had it not been for the opportunity of Project K. Like the rest of the Graeme Dingle Team, Mark wants every child to know that what they have inside is greater than any obstacle.

It was an amazing night for all nine students who graduated from a sometimes testing time but who continued to grow and develop over the past 18 months, showing us all that what they have inside is greater than any obstacle.