National Young Leaders Day 2015!

On Monday 15th June 2015, many students from year 7 and 8 were lucky enough to get the chance to go to NYLD (National Young Leaders Day)! During the trip we saw many inspiring and interesting people talk about their lives, and how they became famous! It was held in St. James Theater, where every seat in the three level auditorium was filled! Many different schools were there, including one school that made the long trek from Auckland to Wellington just to see it!

William Pike

The main goal of NYLD is to inspire and teach children how to be good leaders. Many famous New Zealanders came in on Monday to tell us how THEY became great leaders, and their philosophies and attitude towards getting there.

The first speaker of the day (which, because of the traffic, we arrived slightly late to...) was a man called William Pike. William Pike is a mountaineer who lost his leg while he was climbing a mountain, so he had to get a bionic one, which he managed to climb Mount Tongarero with! His main philosophy is All Passion, No Limits, meaning that if you follow your passion, then there won't be any limits to hold you back.

Simon Gault

After William Pike, Simon Gault (from Masterchef) was our next speaker. Simon Gault told us about how everyone is a brand (whether you like it or not), meaning that how you act will effect how people see you as a brand. As well as that, he told us about his extra 5%. 5% magic is when you're doing that little bit extra to get 105% (On top of your normal operating 100%). It makes a massive difference, because that extra 5% magic can be the thing that makes you just that tiny bit better than whatever you're competing against.

Marcus Winter 'The Sandman'

Next we had Marcus Winter, the 'Sandman'. Marcus Winter is an amazing speed artist, who not only does fast paintings (One of which he did mid-speech) but he also works with sand to create amazing artworks which he constantly shifts and changes (he also demonstrated one of his more amazing pieces). He follows three simple rules; 1. Begin with an end in mind 2. Make your Mountains 3. Surround yourself with support. Follow these three rules you are sure to be successful.

Chris Jupp

Chris Jupp was our next speaker. Chris Jupp has worked with World Vision and the 40 Hour Famine since 2011. Even in High-school, Chris Jupp had a big role in the 40 Hour Famine, which he gained through hard work and dedication. He did so well running the 40 Hour Famine in High-school, he was on the news! His story shows that hard work and dedication to your passion can get you anywhere.

Next up we had the Mother and Daughter Duo, Marina and Sariyah. Sariyah told us a story about herself, and Marina read a poem. They told us that you are a story, and that you are unique. They said that it was important to know your story, and to be honest with yourself about it.

After those two, we had Shannon Williams. Shannon Williams is an 12 y/o student from Wellington Girls College. She has managed to set up an Interschool Environmental Leaders Council with only minor help from other people, with a goal of bringing students from separate colleges together to appreciate the environment through leadership events and activities.

Jamie Mcdell

The final speaker of the day was Jamie Mcdell, the famous New Zealand singer. After she became famous, Jamie found that she could be a leader in a different way to most people. Instead of talking to them face to face, she could use her status as a celebrity to take a stance of certain things. As well as that she told us that she didn't really know what she wanted to be  when she was 13, but she did write songs as a hobby, and so at the age of 16 she became a singer, which taught us that it was okay to not have a plan of what we wanted to do at our age as well.

The day was so much fun! As well as the speakers, we got to watch a few videos about other inspiring people, as well as people that couldn't make it, a few breaks for morning tea and lunch, and the presenters even played games with us! All in all, it was a very inspirational day, and I for one feel more motivated and qualified to be a good leader!

- Joshua Toomath, (*Insert funny joke here*) Class Blogger.