Mataī student, Paige McDonald, spent the second week of her holidays in Rarotonga not on the beach, but at a Future Leaders Academy course with over 40 high school students from New Zealand, Australia, and the Cooks Islands.
As well as learning to work collaboratively as part of a team, Paige was challenged as a leader, managing her group for specific challenges and daily tasks.
She says, “We did some super interesting activities, like visiting Vodafone Cook Islands to hear about how they approach leadership in business, and meeting local small businesses to learn what challenges and opportunities they face.
“We also learned a lot about the Cook Islands and issues they are working to combat like seabed mining and coral bleaching. We prepared an umu, hiked up Te Rua Manga, did a beach clean-up, and replanted coral.”
Paige says the experience has imparted some key leadership lessons. “It’s important in a group to take onboard everyone’s ideas and use them in a way that will benefit the group, and to show confidence in decision-making so the people you’re leading have confidence in you.”
Paige is applying her learning to everyday life back home. “Big challenges don’t faze me as much. Start with a small step and keep going. Even if you don’t get all the way there, you’ll have made an impact.”
She says the biggest challenge of the week was saying goodbye to new friends at the end of the trip. “Going through some intense experiences together in a short time has definitely cemented life-long friendships!”
