Every week is packed with a flurry of sports and commitments for 10-year-old Stevie Makiha, and hosting a What Now segment is one of the exciting opportunities recently added to her schedule.
"Stevie Skills" is a segment played on the New Zealand children's television programme, where the Rotorua youngster sharesabout the sports teams she's in, taking the young viewers along to events with her.
She said she had had four Stevie Skills segments on the show so far, including going to a Māori Basketball Tournament, Waikato Bay of Plenty Athletics Championships, Oceania Tag Football Tournament and rugby events.
"It's about encouraging more kids and girls to play sports. I like encouraging kids to always try their best and give it a go."
She said it was fun to give things a go and do sport with friends.
Rotorua's Stevie Makiha hopes to encourages other kids to get active and give sports a go. Photo / Andrew Warner
As she stated in her first segment that aired - "But just remember, it's always important to get out there, get moving, make some friends, and have some fun."
When Stevie found out she had been asked to do the segment with What Now, she was excited but nervous at the same time.
"At first I was a bit nervous and kept messing up, but once I got the hang of it, it got better.
"I definitely feel like I've improved in my talking. Now I've got some experience, I know what kids want to hear at home."
The opportunity came about when Lake City Athletics Club children's convener Kelly Albrecht was asked by What Now for a recommendation of a local kid to do a Mother's Day segment, due to Albrecht's wide connection with families in the city.
She put Stevie's name forward who ended up doing it, and afterwards What Now offered her a permanent segment on the show.
The Westbrook School pupil said her friends and family often asked her what it was like being on television, and what the What Now presenters were like.
"Some of them [friends, family, teammates] are in the segments with me, and they feel cringey like I do when I see myself on TV."
Stevie and her mother - Rotorua Daily Post reporter Kelly Makiha - recently went down to the What Now studio in Christchurch.
Rotorua's Stevie Makiha is loving being a part of the What Now television show. Photo / Andrew Warner
While there she hung out with young YouTubers and dancers Molly and Poppy, was interviewed by presenter Jo, got to pie the producers, and sang a song live.
"When I first saw Jo I was going into the make-up room and he was very tall. I got a shock."
Stevie said it was exciting to be a part of the show because she used to watch it herself when she was free.
Now that she's had a taste of television presenting, she said she definitely wanted to do more of it in the future.
Rotorua's talent is well represented on the show - Rotorua's Stella Maris joined the What Now team as a presenter in 2020.
Maris said she was over the moon to have talent from her hometown be part of the show.
"Stevie beams charisma so she is perfect for it.
"It's really great exposing kids to different activities. Maybe they'll find a new hobby."
When asked if she had any advice for other young, local people who had a dream of working on TV, she said her advice was to work hard.
"Be committed to what you do. Even though you are on screen it's not really about you. It's about the team's vision and goals for the end product. So keep that in mind!"
Whitebait Media post-production manager Mercy Cornish said they loved having Stevie on the show.
"Not only is she a great role model for kids, but she's incredibly genuine and warm.
"She's very relatable to watch and inspires tamariki to get out and strive high with their own hobbies and interests.
"We are constantly blown away by how diversely talented she is - we often say, is there anything this kid can't do?
"Not only does she excel in her sporting endeavours, but she's also very creative and recently wowed us all with a beautiful singing performance live on the show.
"We can't wait to see what Stevie does in the future; we know she will go on to do great things."
