Prizegiving is a time to acknowledge students who have achieved success in a variety of areas during the year. Simon and I would like to share a couple of thoughts on what we think defines success. Is it a trophy with your name engraved on it, is it a certificate that you can proudly display in your home, or is it winning the Burger Shield for 2023? Each and every single one of you, students and staff, here today have achieved success this year in one way or another. It may seem like something small that you have achieved, but we beg to differ. It’s easy to be hard on ourselves and compare our success to others. Sometimes we struggle to recognise that we indeed have achieved success throughout the year. Let’s give credit where it’s due. Because success can’t be defined in a one-size-fits-all sentence.

To those who receive prizes at prizegiving, we congratulate you. Your hard work and dedication has paid off. To those who do and to those who don’t, this is simply a moment in time. This moment does not define you as a person. Success comes from persistence, perseverance, and determination. This moment in time is not the end of your persistence, perseverance, and determination. Absolutely over the holidays have a break and reflect and celebrate with friends and whānau on what you have accomplished this year. But keep going, keep setting new goals, and keep showing your faith by your works. This word of advice was something Troy and I wished we knew when we were sitting there as you are now.

In Year 9, Simon and I were somehow put into the “smart”, or streamed class. Throughout the year, more often than not, we had no idea what we were learning about. At times… most times playing Minecraft on our computers seemed to be a lot more entertaining than what the teachers had to say. Naively, because we were at the top, we thought we could let it slide because we were in the streamed class… therefore the top grades would surely follow. However, as learnt of our class placement for Year 10, Simon and I found ourselves cut from the streamed class because, believe it or not, someone… Mr McDowall… thought others were more ‘aligned’ to that space.

Troy and I were a bit surprised because in our minds we were hard-working students. But, reflecting back, we could have and maybe should have, been moved earlier. From that moment on we made a promise to each other and ourselves to actually work harder to prove our friends, our teachers, and Mr McDowall in some ways, wrong. What Troy and I have realised is that not being put in the top class was for the best, and actually, it made no difference to who we are as people, what we could achieve, or our future pathway. Take where we stand now as one example of that. Like it is in sports, the arts and our faith, it simply was where we were at the time in our journey.

We learned success isn’t just achieved by being at the top or getting a prize on a day like today. As I said before, success can’t be defined in a one size fits all sentence. Success is different for everyone, but it is achieved through persistence, perseverance, and determination. But it’s not all smooth sailing. There are setbacks, there are tough times, and there are times where you will want to give up. Trust us, we’ve been there. Don’t look at these times as setbacks because they're not. Simon and I look at them as speed bumps on your journey. Simply slow down, navigate them safely, learn from them, and continue driving as you were before.

These speed bumps may seem like mountains to climb over, but you will get there. Take it from us, from boys who were dropped in Year 9 (for due reason we should add) to speaking in front of all of you today. It shows success really isn’t defined as solely reaching the top of the mountain, or having the best grades, or being in the top sports or cultural teams.
So we encourage you all to enjoy the little successes in life, granted it’s not all smooth sailing, but above all else enjoy the journey that gets you there. That is where the true reward really lies.

Set goals, achieve them, set more goals, always have something that you want to work towards in the back of your mind.
One day you’ll be able to look back at all the hard work you have done to get to a high standard that you feel is right and realise….
“I have achieved success.” 

Instead of bemoaning the shift, we took the attitude of making the most of what’s being afforded to us. We set goals, we achieved them, we set more goals, and persisted with the challenges that came our way. In Year 10, rather than playing Minecraft, our grades actually improved. We certainly didn’t top the year group, or our class even, but they opened doors and our understanding for the future. For us, that was success.

Don’t back down from a challenge, a worry over a problem. When you come across a speed bump it may seem like a mountain to climb over, but you will get there and you will come out on the other side.