Dannevirke: Totara leaders still show the way

There's an old saying, "if it ain't broke then don't fix it."

This saying is quite apt in the case of the student leaders at Totara College. In 2015 Hannah Peters and Adam Brown, both Year 12 students, took on the task of being student leaders and have never looked back. They took the job seriously, stamping their mark of excellence on any projects they undertook.

One in particular was fundraising for the 40-Hour Famine. Totara College already had a reputation for raising lots of money for this worthy cause and had won a number of trophies acknowledging this. However, Adam and Hannah were not content to rest on their laurels. They set an audacious new target of $4000 and went about getting all the students on board. With about 50 students at the school this meant every student had to raise an average of $80. This didn't put Adam and Hannah off and the goal was achieved with an extra $100 to boot.

Jump forward to 2016. Adam and Hannah, now Year 13 students, have once again been chosen as school leaders. This month they will head off to India on a short-term mission with the rest of the Year 13 students. They are looking forward to this although the array of vaccinations needed for travelling to a third world country has left them feeling a bit like pin cushions.

Later this year Adam plans to take up a career with the New Zealand Defence Forces, culminating in helping to man rescue helicopters while Hannah plans to see out this year at Totara College and then complete a possible Bachelor of Commerce at Massey University.

"We're looking forward to another year with these two great role models leading our students, here at Totara College," teacher Jonny Max said.