A move to Tauranga from India three years ago has seen Suchita Jain's artistic skills flourish.
And the Tauranga Girls' College student's flair for design has been recognised in a secondary school students' competition to design the 2010 Breast Cancer Awareness T-shirt.
Suchita, who turns 18 this week, submitted six designs in
the competition. But it was a footprint design which caught the judges' eyes.
The T-shirt includes the words "follow the footsteps", to represent the ASB Women's Walk for Breast Cancer.
"It's little and big steps to show that people of all ages have walked it and is in two shades of pink, which is a feminine colour," the Year 13 student explained.
The T-shirt was launched last week at the Proudly Pink Summer Fashion Show at Bethlehem Town Centre. The show marked the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Suchita is excited to see her creation on the catwalk - and then on the backs of hundreds of women at the "pink walk" on October 20. "I want to do the walk to support it and to see [people wearing the T-shirt] as well."
The win has given Suchita the confidence to consider a future in design. She is yet to decide whether to study design or architecture.
Julie Blake of Tauranga Breast Cancer Support Service said Suchita's entry was chosen for its well-balance design, which was "both funky and feminine". It had a great message in "follow the footsteps".
It was difficult to pick a winner from the 16 entries, Ms Blake said. "All the designs were quite different. Some were feminine, some were funky, others incorporated the pink ribbon, others didn't. There was a high level of creativity and thought behind the designs."
The ASB Women's Walk for Breast Cancer is at 6pm on Wednesday, October 20. Entry forms are available from all ASB branches, Smiths Sport Shoes, More FM, Breast Cancer Support Service Tauranga, and in local sports and cycle shops. Entry $5.
