Youth award recipients Katie Jones and Lachlan Drummond.
As Year 13 students at Stratford High School, Katie Jones and Lachlan Drummond are both positive role models for the younger students.
Katie is head girl at the school, while Lachlan is the male sports captain and both teenagers say they are motivated by a desire to lead by example.
Katie and Lachlan have today been named the Stratford District Council 2018 Citizen's Award Youth recipients, something both of them describe as being an honour.
"While I'd heard about the awards before, I hadn't realised there was a youth category, so it was a shock to get the letter telling me I had been nominated," Katie says.
Lachlan says he certainly was surprised to see a letter from the local council addressed to him and had not been expecting something like this to happen.
Mayor Neil Volzke says he was impressed by both Katie and Lachlan's contribution to their community when they were still teenagers.
"Katie is clearly an outstanding young lady who is talented in many ways. I believe she has an amazing future in front of her."
Lachlan, he says, "clearly excels in his chosen sports and is a real role model to others. He looks set to have a bright future in both rugby and cricket."
As well as both attending Stratford High School, Lachlan and Katie also have a love of sports in common, with both of them torn between two very different games.
Katie plays both netball and basketball and has represented Taranaki in both sports. Lachlan has also represented Taranaki in two sports; cricket and rugby.
Lachlan says both sports have given him some great opportunities through the years, from playing in an invitational cricket team in England to playing for the Chiefs under 17s development team.
He says he wants to play one of his two sports professionally in the future, and says when it comes to choosing which one he would prefer, he simply can't pick. "Ask me again in five years time, I might have an answer then."
As well as continuing his journey as a sportsman, Lachlan also has plans to join the police force later in life.
"I'm doing the Gateway programme here at school and will hopefully go on to a building apprenticeship when I leave, to get some experience in life in general before I look at joining the police."
Katie says she plans to go on to university after high school, but is still deciding what to study.
"Either law or history at Victoria University or I am considering studying teaching at Waikato."
Katie says she credits her school with encouraging her to push herself when it comes to her success so far.
"Pushing yourself to try new things or do better is important."
She is a member of the school student council, which she says is a role she takes seriously.
"It's important, you have to be the voice of the students."
Lachlan and Katie are both involved in the school peer support programme, which they both say helps them encourage and support younger students.
Programmes such as the peer support programme help students follow the school's core values, says Katie.
Both she and Lachlan try to live those core values in their daily life.
Both have volunteered their time helping younger people, from coaching to captaining teams, and both have given their time to help local charity Team Hope.
"I think giving back to your sport, your school or the people around you is important, it helps you grow more and helps others do well too," says Katie.