Selwyn Times: May 13, 2020

14 Wednesday May 13 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Passion for Japanese
leads to fulfilling career
Emma Leonard’s passion for Japanese
language stems right back to primary
school. “My best friend was Japanese and
she taught me a lot about the language and
culture which really fostered my curiosity.”
Straight from high school, Emma
enrolled to study the Bachelor of Language
(Japanese) at Ara Institute of Canterbury.
She says she chose Ara because it was a far
more intensive Japanese degree than other
tertiary options.
“Where most other universities just had
general Japanese classes, Ara’s Japanese
degree is divided into multiple classes like
translation, interpretation, grammar and
general culture classes.”
Emma says this approach helped her
improve her Japanese far more than any
other option would have. She also liked the
small classes at Ara. “Compared
to the large class sizes of 30+
students at bigger universities,
the small classes at Ara felt very
much one-to-one. I really felt they
viewed me as an individual, not
just as another student.”
She also says her classes were
fun, and her tutors were ‘really
upbeat’. “One day we’d be learning
through a game, the next day we’d
have a debate and the day after
that we’d be reading long articles
in Japanese. It wasn’t just reading
from a book all day, it was much
more hands-on.”
Emma says highlights of her
studies were an exchange to
Tania
Ara graduate
Now’s the time to immerse
yourself in language.
If If you’d like to bring language into your home,
workplace or career, Ara has the study options to
make it it a reality. Choices include courses in English,
Japanese, Māori and Samoan languages. At Ara, you’ll
learn from inspirational mentors in real-life learning
environments and you’ll graduate work-ready.
Courses start this July*
Apply now at ara.ac.nz
*Depending on Alert Level, course may be
provided partially online or by distance learning.
Yokohama National University, and an
internship she did in her third year. “I
really appreciate how it gave me real-life
experience to understand how I’d use my
Japanese in the workplace.”
Now having graduated, Emma is
working as a sales representative for
Nippon Food Supplies in Brisbane. “It’s
quite a demanding job but it’s very
rewarding. I drive all over Queensland and
see some amazing places and talk to some
really cool clients. The degree gave me a
very strong cultural understanding which
really helps me in my workplace because
virtually everyone there is Japanese.”
To learn more about Ara’s language
courses, including partial online and
distance delivery options, visit ara.ac.nz.
ON THE CHARGE: Hamish Sadler on his way to completing one of the 132 laps
of the Kennedys Bush Rd during his Everesting effort.
Sadler conquers
Everest challenge
• By Jacob Page
LINCOLN HIGH School
cyclist Hamish Sadler
pushed himself well outside
his comfort zone during
the coronavirus isolation
period.
The 18-year-old, who
lives in Tai Tapu, completed
the Everest Challenge last
week
Everesting, as it is known,
is when a cyclist ascends
and descends a given hill
multiple times non-stop in
order to have cumulatively
climbed the 8848m vertical
height of Mt Everest.
Sadler chose to do it on
Kennedys Bush Rd.
He completed the task in
9hr 39min 12sec burning
almost 8000 calories in the
effort.
“Each time you did a lap
was only 67m vertical so it
was 132 laps and a lot of time
lost with U-turns so I was
very happy with my time.”
Sadler said he was
thrilled to achieve something
he wanted to do for a
long time.
“It’s been in the back of
my mind for many years.
I first learnt about it from
an old teacher and friend
of mine Andrew Roozen,”
he said.
Roozen is particularly
famous in the world of
Everesting and he was the
reason I was inspired to
give it a crack.
He said after weeks of
training, nutrition and
even a half-Everest pre-race
recce for pacing, the race
day itself was still challenging.
“The first few laps were
amazing but at times it got
very, very grim.
“During the isolation
I’d lost the goals that I was
working towards for
my road racing so
this gave me something
to focus on.”
Sadler said he
enjoyed hill climbs
during road racing
and felt this challenge
suited him.
“Climbing is my
strong point and it’s
what I enjoy most,” he said.
“I was hoping to go to
Europe in the latter part of
this year so the revised goal
is to try to get on the Tour
of Southland.
SPORT
SHATTERED: Hamish Sadler after more than nine
hours on the bike which he said at times was “very,
very grim.”
Hamish
Sadler
SELWYN TIMES
“The youngest age to do
it is 18 so it’s a lofty one
but one I think I can manage.”
Sadler has been competing
for the past four
years and is trained
by Paul Odlin, who
is a former national
and Oceania road
champion.
Odlin said Sadler
had a naturally
muscular physique
which worked for
him to power up
mountains.
He said if he sticks with
the sport and continues to
show mental strength, he
was capable of big things in
the future.