5 Year 12 females were selected for a leadership workshop at the university encouraging young women in leadership in March.

This was run by Karen Nairn and Diana Ruwhiu. 38 Year 12 females participated in this workshop, all from different schools in the lower South Island. The workshop's main target was females who hadn’t had leadership roles in the past. We were sorted into groups with others who had a similar interest, eg. arts, environment or sports, who we had not met, to create and develop a project with. 

First we discussed, ‘What is a leader?’ As well as the values behind being a leader, and how quiet leaders are good leaders too. We thought about our own leadership identity, such as our own strengths and influences. We had guest speakers talk about their leadership journeys; one discussed how their leadership journey was very conventional however it was the unconventional leadership opportunities that were the most fulfilling. We also looked at the ethics behind being a leader and how our values shape the decisions we make.

In groups we were given a topic such as ‘environment’ ‘youth health and wellbeing’ and ‘sport and recreation’. From there we discussed in our groups a project we could arrange in schools, or on other platforms such as social media. We had until 31 May to put our ideas into practice. We all came back on May 31 to present our projects to each other and discuss how it went.

This was an amazing opportunity to meet new people with similar interests, and to discuss and plan a project surrounding something we are passionate about. It was also interesting to learn more about leadership and what it means to be a leader in more depth. It is something we would definitely encourage future year 12 females to apply for! 

Students who attended the course:

Caitlyn Smith

Lauren Davey

Sophia Goodin

Sylvia Baeumer

Grace Fagerlund

Abi Gibson