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Porirua Youth Awards Citations
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2011 Porirua Youth Award winners
Leonardo Coghini with MP Paula Bennett
Highly Commended winners with Porirua Moyor Nick and MP Hekia Parata
MP Hekia Parata, Ihaia Ropata and Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett
Morgan Evans and MP Paula Bennett
MP Hekia Parata, Jannah Hibberd and Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett
Excellence winners with MPs Hekia Parata and Paula Bennett and Porirua's Mayor Nick Leggett
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Youth to wear their awards with Pride
“You’re getting the recognition you deserve and you should wear it with pride but there are also responsibilities that come with it. You have a responsibility to care for others. You’ve got something special to give and mustn’t ever forget that.”
National Party MPs, Paula Bennett and Hekia Parata, along with Porirua’s Mayor Nick Leggett presented the 2011 winners of the Porirua Youth Awards to a packed audience.
“You should all feel honoured to be chosen for these awards,” said guest presenter Paula Bennett, Minister for Social Development and Employment and Minister for Youth Affairs.
Out of 35 student nominees, nine won highly commended awards and four were honoured with excellence awards in the categories of art and culture, education, environment or community work, and sport.
From selection in the NZ Junior Tall Blacks and NZ under 20s Basketball team by Jordan Ngatai, to excelling in theatre by TJ Misa, and Tara Mackie winning national titles in archery, all 13 students who took the stage are well deserved Porirua Youth Award winners.
“These awards are extremely important in our community. Young people are often talked about as the key to our future, but I believe you people are our present, not just our future. These are young leaders who will develop further but they are leaders here and now!” said Mayor Leggett.
For the second year running the awards are a testament to the contributions the youth in our community have made throughout 2011 and highlight the outstanding achievements in both attainment and attitude.
“We are a sizzling city!” said Hekia Parata. “I’m delighted that this is the 2nd year for these awards and it’s important that we recognise you all.”
Ms Parata was instrumental in beginning the awards in 2010 with the support from Partners Porirua, the Youth Advisory Group and the Porirua Foundation, along with sponsors Telecom.
The winning students also had key support behind them and were quick to thank others for their achievements, “Gosh, there are so many people to thank. I’d especially like to thank Cary Baxter my music teacher and also Dave Lisik who is a Canadian composer and trumpeter at the NZ School of Music” said Leonardo Coghini, aged only 14 who won an excellence award for his high achievements as a pianist and is hoping to travel to the U.S. with the NZ Jazz Choir in 2012. Eventually he would like to study at the NZ School of Music.
All winning students were awarded a cash prize of up to $1,000 and each aim to use the money to further their careers in the area’s they have excelled in.
With the softball season about to start soon for Katie McAndrew the award will go towards her fees and some new Cleats (studded shoes). Katie was recognised for her high achievements in softball including representation at a national level and she aims to continue to play softball both regionally and nationally.
Those who won are also quick to not let us forget that the awards are also about recognition for the wider community and the important part we all play in motivating our young people to excel. Morgan Evans from Aotea College commends his schools support and in particular his English teacher Miss Retter and the School Principal Mr Huston. With the help of his school and those around him Morgan plans to study a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law in 2012 and continue with his interest in politics.
It’s humbling to see such young members of our community excelling at such high levels and serving as role models to us all. In many instances they are simply ‘next-door neighbours’ and their achievements are a poignant reminder to us all that we have some talented and determined leaders in our midst who need our ongoing support and deserve the recognition they have received at the awards, which they will no doubt wear with pride!
Full list of award recipients:
Excellence Award Winners
Katie McAndrew - 16 years, excellence in sport [softball]
Leonardo Coghini - 14 years, excellence in music [pianist]
Morgan Evans – 18 years, excellence in education
Jordan Ngatai – 18 years, excellence in sport [basketball]
Highly Commended Award Winners
Tara Mackle – 16 years, excellence in sport [archery]
Ihaia Ropata – 13 years, excellence in sport [hockey]
Dalton Wilkins – 12 years, excellence in sport [soccer/running]
Tram Ly – 18 years, excellence in education
Jannah Hibberd – 17 years, excellence in community work
Shanti Brown – 18 years, excellence in community work
Ruby Ng Lam – 17 years, excellence in art & culture
Apirana Skipworth – 18 years, excellence in education
TJ Misa – 17 years, excellence in arts [drama]
“I was lucky enough to be part of the judging panel for this year's Porirua Youth Awards, which was a great experience. The applicants were absolutely amazing, which made the level of competition really high. This made the job of choosing the winners far from easy, but was great to see the number of hardworking, talented young people there are in the Porirua region. By sitting on the judging panel, I was impressed that the applicants were not only outstanding in their specific forte, but were multi-talented all rounders. These people truly deserve to be acknowledged and the Porirua Youth Awards were a great way to give the recipients the recognition they deserve." says Akane Sora of Porirua City Council - Youth Advisory Group
“The Porirua Youth Awards are a great way to acknowledge the amazing things that young people in our city are achieving. It is especially great to celebrate their talents in a broader setting than just sport or school. As a young city it is so important we foster the talent we have in Porirua and continue to encourage excellence. In MC-ing the event this year, it was a huge honour to share the stage with young people who have and will continue to succeed at the highest levels." says Cr Bronwyn Kropp of Porirua City Council