Catching up with Leah O’Toole - a real success story

I caught up with Leah O’Toole initially when she came into my office to talk about her social action assessment around eliminating plastic cutlery from our school environment before the Term 3 holidays. We have a good connection after initially meeting when Leah was in Year 11 and Illa and I shared a Year 11 Hauora class that Leah was part of. She was impressive then and I remember on many an occasion where we passed over to Leah to help other students with one thing or another. In the most recent conversation we had, Leah mentioned that this was her last assessment and that she will have completed NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance when she had completed this assessment. I think this was still in September, which is a phenomenal effort! I asked her what her secret was and that conversation led to me asking her if she would be ok with this being a newsletter article. She was ok with it!!!! So, here goes...

Leah is truly inspiring! Really and genuinely inspiring. She is wise well beyond her years, organised and efficient and I really feel like when I speak to her I am having a chat with a friend rather than a student. She has excellent social skills!

A bit of history: Leah came to Hagley from a local school as she wanted a more accepting atmosphere, as well as somewhere that would be welcoming, given that she was going into Year 11. She liked the way the school was laid out and she seemed to like more opportunities for fresh air rather than just buildings. She also found the school to be open both physically and emotionally. Reflecting on her Year 11 year, she thought she was less driven then than now as she didn’t really seem to have figured out the importance of school for achieving her next steps.

Leah has very supportive parents and she has spoken to me about this being a very important factor in her academic success more than once. She describes it as ‘failing not being an option’ and instead the mantra is keep trying until you get it. The message being ‘you have moved schools, now get it done!’ This has worked really well for Leah!

Leah has a pretty solid plan for 2023. It starts with her taking an ‘everything’ break. After 15 years of schooling across two countries and four schools she deserves it. A chance to build up some finances to take some pressure off in her future. Leah really means what she says. She made a financial plan with her parents this year so she would get used to budgeting. She also wants to spend time deciding who she is as a person and establish herself. She will then throw University into the mix and I have no doubt she will do incredibly well. What an incredibly mature attitude to life that is??!!

I asked Leah what lessons she had learned along the way and her response was firstly that she had even surprised herself with how well she had done. Her advice was also around how to mange being unmotivated and she said she found just doing it unmotivated worked well for her as it just got her started. Sometimes motivation comes along after you have started. I have to agree: this article has sat on a ‘to do’ list for a bit and today I just decided to start typing…

She suggests taking breaks too and recommends scheduling her time and then sticking to it. Her other piece of advice is more social. Essentially, Leah reckons that people do not care about you as much as you think! What you are doing and what you are wearing is just not that important to others. Be comfortable in yourself instead.

Other pieces of advice are around having balance and listening respectfully. I think there is something in that list for everyone.

I just want to finish off with congratulating Leah on her achievements this year in particular. To achieve NCEA Level 3 and UE in September is incredible and with very good results. She is a credit to both herself and her family and inspiration to other students that this can be done! It takes motivation and drive and very very good organisational skills but it can be done!!

Thanks, Leah, for being such a great role model to others. I am grateful for the time I had with what was 11IR and the fact it meant our paths crossed. All the best for your incredibly bright future!