Six months ago, a Kuranui College teacher did a little dance when she won a $10,000 scholarship to attend a national leadership course.
Now Juanita McLellan, who has just turned 29, is part of an organising team who attracted Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt and comedian Gary McCormick to Waiheke Island for
a fundraising dinner tonight.
Ms McLellan is one of three teachers nationwide to attend the Excelerator New Zealand Leadership Institute Future Leaders Programme in 2007/08, which is run for 21 to 28-year-olds.
The $10,000 course fees have been totally covered by a grant from the Woolf Fisher Trust, Ms McLellan said.
"It was legendary.
"I believe I did a little dance.
"Some of the people on the programme have had to raise the money themselves," she said.
Tonight's comedy dinner is at The Dunes, Onetangi Beach, with the proceeds earmarked for another spot on the leadership programme.
The 18-month programme can be completed alongside fulltime work and centres on challenging young leaders to think, relate to and work alongside others, among other things.
Ms McLellan expressed interest in the programme to build up experience, to see more of the country and to meet others, as well as building up more skills for her career.
She said her main teaching goal is to show different methods of teaching, an important skill as the world of education moves into an era of change.
"Most of the kids that are going into schools are going into jobs that haven't been invented yet. "How do you prepare them for that?" Ms McLellan said.
Meanwhile, with a trip to the Wellington region for the leadership programme cohorts looming in November, Ms McLellan is hoping to lure them east to experience Wairarapa.
"If we can swing it that way that would be choice because so far we've been to Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua and we're going to Nelson and Invercargill.
"It would be great to get into the rural regions."
Ms McLellan teaches the junior school integrated programme at Kuranui College and last year moved back to Featherston from Upper Hutt.
She was born in Featherston and raised in Martinborough.
