Outward Bound award recipient Tiamaaria Wehi is using her experience in State care and the Youth Justice System to help young people who are disadvantaged while striving towards her own goals.
Tiamaaria Wehi was once walking a lonely path of crime but against all odds, she's turned her life around.
"It took me to get locked up to figure out what I was doing with my life, I wasn't going anywhere."
Coming through State care and the Youth Justice system, life for Wehi hasn't always been easy. She's using her experience to help others.
Social Worker Nancye Caldwell says, "She has been mentoring young people in Christchurch who have been sent down from Auckland and placed in residents and she's done a wonderful job according to the staff down there."
Wehi says, "Just because I've been through the same pathway as them."
Wehi was the recipient of the Outward Bound award at the inaugural William Wallace Awards and is striving towards being a personal trainer in the Navy.
She says, "It's all about choices and just going for what you love, even if you think you can't get there there's still heaps of chances that you can take to get to where you want to be."
Wehi will be taking part in Outward Bound's outdoor education programme next month and hopes to build her confidence to help achieve her goals.