MAC Magazine 2018

Where Are They Now?
Academic
MAC Blues
Tell us Luke, what are you doing these days?
When you were little, were you the kind of kid that
wished you could stay up as late as you liked,
watching movies and eating junk food? Your
parents always being the boring, responsible Fun
Police, telling you “no, you have to go to bed”. As
you grew older, did the boundaries slip, did your
parents relent, did you get to stay up late? Did
you realise after the first few late nights that your
parents might just have been onto something
with that whole “early to bed, early to rise” thing?
Did you find that having the freedom to choose
more often than not just made you choose the
boring, “healthy” option yourself?
That’s my life now.
The best thing about studying and living away
from home is the freedom I have. My time is
now entirely my own, so if I want to skip today’s
lectures and just lay in bed all day, I can. No one
cares. The problem is, I’m the one responsible
for myself now, and I know that missing a day’s
worth of learning is probably counterproductive
towards my university career. I can stay up till
three in the morning watching Netflix every single
night, but I know that then I’ll be completely
useless the next day, so I don’t. In my opinion the
absolute freedom can be the most challenging
part of university, but easily the most rewarding.
Figuring out how best to spend my time by
balancing study, fun, sport and most importantly
sleep isn’t easy, but does make for some darn
good times.
These days I’m playing hockey for the university
club, playing guitar in a band made up of other
first-years, and trying to exercise enough to
balance out all the food my hall feeds me. I’m
in the second semester of my first year of a
Mechatronics Engineering degree, which is eating
up most of my time and only keeping me up most
nights. It’s a fine balancing act, but I’ve always
preferred having what I call an 'insane, crazy,
hectic, busy!' schedule to an empty one.
I see. How would you say MAC life prepared
you for this wonderful misadventure?
To be honest, words can’t explain the sheer
gratitude and respect I have for MAC. Words
can’t express the pride I feel being able to call it
my school. Words can’t come close to describing
the help and support I received from my teachers,
or the friendships that I made.
So I won’t waste them.
Suffice to say MAC gave me every single tool
and opportunity that got me here today (as
well as the motivation to do so) and I will always
remember it fondly.
Thanks Luke, that was beatiful... wait, are you...
crying?
No, my eyes are just a little sweaty today.
Uh huh. Finally, what advice would you give to
the folks at school on making the most of it?
I would say “make the most of every opportunity,
you’re so lucky to live where you do, live in the
moment”, but if they’re not sick of hearing that
by now they’ve probably not been listening hard
enough. No, what I will say is simply “have fun”.
Taking school seriously is always a good idea, but
if they ask you to write a couple of paragraphs
describing your life at uni, don’t be afraid to inject
just a little humour. Bad example maybe.
What I’m trying to say (here come the clichés)
is that one day you will look back on your high
school days fondly, and you should do your best
to make good memories to reflect on. Work hard,
but when its playtime, just have some fun. Do
cool stuff with your weekends. Get some hobbies.
You get it, just have some fun. But not too much.
Also not too little. You’ll figure it out.
That’s it from me, always a pleasure to be able to
impart some of my wisdom.
Yours truly,
Luke Burke
Joe Strawson
Hannah McNabb
Luci McDougall
Phoebe Young
Emily Simpkin
Gregor Findlay
Riley Christie
Zachary Kaye
Sport
Joseph Sharratt
Julius Staufenberg
Lucas Buckley
Tilly Hoffman-Wall
Jaime Toepfer
Billy Sandri
Hayley Yule
Peta McKay
Service
Alex Plimmer
Kenzie Muir
Erica Ayres
Simone Johnson
Leo Munro-Heward
Sonya Palmer
Francesca Kraayvanger
Rory Johns
Flynn Rosie
Riley Christie
Leo Munro-Heward
Emilie Barnett
Bella Fraser
Madi Mulqueen
Sam Coupland
Maggie Little
Jessica Curtis
Luci McDougall
Cultural
Sonya Palmer
Casey Scurr
Max Hall
Luci McDougall
Jessica Curtis
Annabel Fairbairn
Stirling Deaton
Samantha Garrick
Eva Wilson
Peta McKay
Mel Telford
For over 16 years I have innocently grown up in
the small bubble of a town that we all love to call
home - Wanaka. Even though Wanaka has been
a treat to grow up in, I reached my time where I
was ready to leave and see what else the world
has to hold for me, a feeling which I’m sure many
seniors will have growing upon them as they get
closer to their departure from school and home.
This year I have moved three hours down the road
to Dunedin where I am studying a Bachelor of
Nursing at the Otago Polytechnic. I cannot explain
the feeling of finally being able to study something
you are passionate about and what you want to
do for the next chapter of your life, if not the rest
of your life. To think one day I’ll be helping save
people’s lives is a scary thought for me (and
whoever ends up in the hospital bed in front of me),
but I am literally counting down the days until they
let me into the hospital… I CAN’T WAIT!
I think it’s impossible to be fully prepared for the
change of moving to University or Polytechnic.
I was extremely shocked with the expectation
and the standard of work required just to pass a
paper and the time required to make passing a
reality. It’s hard not to get caught up in the social
and sporting life and come home to realize the
mountains of work you still have to do when you
really just want to get some sleep. It’s been a real
life lesson for me to learn how to time manage
and set myself a plan in order to stay on top of
everything and is something I’m still figuring out.
Advice I have for students at MAC would be to
make sure you make the most of school. Everyone
tells you it’s the easiest and best time of your life
and… they are right. I thought they were all lying
but now I really do know how easy school is and
how you should embrace it while you are still there.
I think it’s also important to study something you
are passionate about, because a lot of hours for
the next three or so years is dedicated to it. Take
the time to figure out what is really best for you.
Finally, my last piece of advice is to appreciate
your parents while they are right at your fingertips
because I can tell you they have your back like
nobody else ever will and the distance they go to
make you happy – well, words can’t describe that.
Overall the next step people make after high
school leads everyone down different paths and
none of them are wrong. Enjoy university if you
decide that’s what you want to do, work hard and
have fun. It’s only for a short period of time that
you’ll never get to relive. Maybe university isn’t for
you - for my best friend it wasn’t what was best
for her and that’s OK because I have never seen
her as happy as I do today in our rare but hours
long Facetime calls.
The point I’m trying to make is to trust what you
want to do and do it at 110% because when you
leave high school, nobody but you can dictate
your life.
“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve
greatly.”- John F. Kennedy
Caitlin Gibson
Maggie Little
Fletch Cavanagh
Meg Harraway
Alex Plimmer
Samantha Garrick
Sam Pearce
Gregor Findlay
Rory Johns
Sam Howard
Ben Harrington
Natalie Mitchell
Phoebe Young
Flynn Rosie
Madi Gainsford
Georgia Budd
Grace Lee
Lachie Weir
Mel Telford
Greer Porter
Peta McKay
Jack East
Phoenix Brownlee
Jessie Fraser
Kate Richards
Sam Coupland
Sam Teal
Ronan Thompson
Holly Wigg
Bella Fraser
Special Awards
Jake Nicholson
Phoebe Young
Rata Horan
Gregor Findlay
Riley Christie
Zachary Kaye
Ben Harrington
Natalie Mitchell
Flynn Rosie
Madi Gainsford
Georgia Budd
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