Four girls from a Masterton family are leading the way for success at one of the oldest Māori boarding schools in New Zealand.
Te Raukura and Nanaia Martin and their nieces Hinekohu and Kania Martin-Wade are part of a drive by the school to focus more strongly on leadership.
She's giving it her all, and she's definitely on the rise.
Te Raukura Martin says, “It’s definitely new being a prefect, but you always know you have that support from teachers, matrons and the other prefects.”
Though she's still a student at school, Martin has become a shining example for her sisters and nieces to follow.
“I was appointed prefect last year and we went to AUT and the course was real good because it made me more confident and more focused in what I want to achieve as a leader,” Martin says.
Terehia Channings, principal of Turakina Girls College, has been the driving force in introducing the importance of good leadership amongst the senior and junior students.
Despite those successes, families are still struggling to send their daughters to the school, for financial reasons.
“Yes that’s one of the obstacles facing families, but we hope that they can overcome this and send their girls to schools like ours here at Turakina,” says Channing.
Martin says, “I hope to leave Turakina and leave behind my positive legacy as an individual and as well as working with my leader team and I hope to pursue a career in midwifery.”
Despite her hard work and efforts, Te Raukura Martin knows that her successes are not an individual effort, but instead the efforts of many.