The Chatter caught up with Huntly College student leaders Naia Vaka, Alexander Harbottle, Maipi Whirihana Kemp, Fellon Gillies and Patrick Kaihe Wichman to chat about leadership, school life and their hopes for the future at the kura.
Naia Vaka
Hi, my name is Naia, and I am one of the head girls from Huntly College. I was born in Hamilton, but I grew up in Auckland. My first primary school was called Fairburn in Otahuhu. In 2018, while I was in year 3, I moved to Huntly and moved up to year 4 at Huntly West Primary. Ever since then, I have been in Huntly, and I am currently a year 12 student at Huntly College.
To me, a leader is someone I can trust with my school’s well-being and who treats students equally. This involves students being comfortable with us so that they can speak to us about any problems or struggles they may have. This also looks like someone who can confront a problem confidently when there is one, whether with the students, themselves, or even the teachers.
Something I like about the head student role is the involvement I get with the school. I like having the responsibility of certain choices that affect the school. In saying that, I hope to improve our school’s passing rates. Because our school has a reputation for being “negative” or “bad”, I greatly believe that an improvement in our passing rates could show our community how good our school truly is.
I think my year so far has been pretty good. I’m caught up with most of my assessments and my head student duties.
When I’m not at school, I enjoy playing on this tablet my boyfriend gave me. I use it for drawing, playing games, and watching movies. If not that, I’m either sleeping or eating in my room. On certain days, I also like going out with my friends and my boyfriend. Either for a walk or just to hang out.
My plans for 2027 are to hopefully focus on my UE credits and settle on a final plan for when I leave college.
I think the highlights of Huntly College will definitely be the events we have here. The trips, the events, all of it are some of the most memorable moments we all share within the college. They all bring us a little bit together, even for just those hours. And we see this mostly within the events we have within the school. Therefore, I think these events will be our school’s highlights.
Alexander Harbottle
Hello everyone. My name is Alexander Harbottle. I grew up in Raahui Pookeka Huntly. My mother, her whakapapa is Ngati Maniapoto and my father is of Nga Puhi descent. I am currently in Year 13 at Huntly College and I am acting as the leader of Event Management for 2026.
To me, being a student leader requires someone open and friendly. Before coming into the role I would label myself as someone bossy and very particular about how I wanted things done. I also would say that I sticked to the same groups and avoided socialising with people outside of my scope. Stepping into the role of Event Management taught me to include everyone’s ideas and have conversations with a wide range of people.
I love how the Event Management role allows me to plan schoolwide events such as Pink Shirt Day and Culture Day. I think it gives me more creative expression and gives me the chance to bring everyone’s ideas together. I hope that in 2026 my role helps set the standard for events going forward in the future for the kura. I also hope that everyone enjoys and participates in school events whether it be to celebrate culture or raise awareness.
My year has been hectic but fulfilling. Juggling head student duties, schoolwork, and personal life has been busy. However, hard work gives me a heartfelt sense of accomplishment after a long day.
When not at school I enjoy learning Chinese as well as other languages. It has been my hobby since childhood and I enjoy communicating in foreign languages. I also enjoy cooking and spending time with my whaanau and friends.
My plans for 2027 are to go to medical school in Auckland. I also want to go back to Thailand and reunite with my exchange friends and family.
My main highlight from Huntly College was last year when the school gave me an opportunity to go abroad and study in Thailand with AFS. Going abroad taught me a new language and opened so many new doors for me to grow. Another highlight would be becoming a head student and being able to give back to the kura that raised me to become a Rangatira.
Alexander Harbottle
0226237044
Maipi Whirihana Kemp
Good afternoon everyone!
My name is Maipi, and I am a yr 12 student leader at Te Kura Tuara O Raahui Pookeha. Ever since I was 2 years old, I have spent my entire life here in Raahui Pookeka. During this time, I have been to 3 schools: Te Whare Kura O Rakaumanga, Huntly West School, and of course, Huntly College.
Being a student leader means being a positive role model towards our teina. It’s about showing respect and being responsible enough that I can be relied on by our students and teachers. This involves listening to others, giving clear instructions, and also working with others instead of trying to take control of everything by myself. It is also about being willing to solve problems rather than avoiding them.
One thing in particular that I like about this role is that I get the opportunity to attend many trips that teach me how to improve not just as a leader, but also as a person. In the future, I hope to achieve something better than just awards, I hope to become such a good influence that people would want to become a student leader themselves.
The year so far has been busy but full of learning experiences. So far i’ve gotten so much opportunities to show my leadership skills by leading our school assemblies, becoming a leader and guiding my own group of year 9’s at our recent stars trip, and also getting to be a coach alongside my friend Diesel. Although things haven’t been perfect, I know that over time I will improve by constantly being in an environment where leadership is always encouraged.
When not at school, and not busy doing school work, I like to enjoy my time playing sports like basketball and Waka ama. For me, playing sports isn’t just about being successful; I play to create new connections with people that I don’t even know. An example of this is in basketball. Before playing, I had no idea who some of my teammates were, but now, my relationship with them has gotten so strong that I end up staying at their house on a weekly basis.
My plan for 2027 is to just enjoy my last year of high school, getting my level 3’s with at least merit endorsement, playing as many sports as I can before focusing on finding new courses to help me learn more about becoming an engineer. Since 2027 is my last year, I plan on focusing most of my time on coaching our school basketball team, teaching them everything that I know about the sport, and just leaving a mark on the school, showing everyone that I was once a part of Huntly College.
Looking back, I think the best highlights at Huntly College would be all the friendships and memories I’ve made along the way. I’ll always remember the laughs, always being told not to eat in the science class, always being asked, “Did you sanitize?” by the canteen lady, and also all the times I got growled at for being in the gym for 1minute too long. No doubt that I will always cherish the memories I created through sports. During sports, I was able to make so many friends. In fact, if I had never played basketball, I would never have known who almost 99% of my friends were. Thinking about it now, I already know that I’m going to miss Huntly College. Not because of the memories, but because of the people. In all my years of learning, Huntly College has been the most positively impactful to me.
Fellon Gillies and Patrick Kaihe Wichman Interviews coming next issue.
