Sixteen-year-old Lara Abraham is off to the Cook Islands for a leadership camp in April.
Flying to the Cook Islands during a term break might sound like the holiday teenagers dream of, but when Stratford High School student Lara Abraham heads there this April she won’t be sunning herself on a beach, she says.
“I will be attending the Student Leaders Academy which is a leadership course for students in their last two years of high school.”
The academy is open to students from New Zealand, Australia and the Cook Islands, taking a total of 40 students from Australia and New Zealand, and 15 from the Cook Islands.
It’s aimed at supporting students who are interested in extending their leadership skills, especially rangatahi who have already taken on some leadership responsibilities or roles.
Lara, 16, certainly ticks that box. She is a national student leader for SADD (Students Against Dangerous Driving), a member of the Stratford District Youth Council, she’s a member of the local Rangers unit and this year takes on two leadership roles as a Year 13 at Stratford High School.
“I’m house leader for my house, Amess, and also community leader. That is about connecting students with things they can get involved with in our wider community, like youth council.”
Lara says while there are similar leadership courses in New Zealand, she wanted to give herself a bigger challenge.
“I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone. Being in a different country, away from home, in a totally different environment and learning alongside people from other places as well as New Zealand will give me a different perspective and I will be meeting people with different experiences to my life, and different ways of thinking.
“In Stratford, the majority of people have similar backgrounds to each other, we all live in the same rural community and so come across the same things. At the academy I will spend my time with people from different backgrounds which will be interesting.”
Lara is no stranger to the Cook Islands, having been there on family holidays four times previously.
“This will be my fifth visit, but in totally different circumstances, and the first time without my family.”
She loves the Cook Islands, she says, and is looking forward to experiencing more of the culture on this trip.
“I’ve done lots of touristy things there in the past, but this trip will be much more focused on learning about the culture and people, and actually working and learning alongside students from there as well. So it will be very different. While I don’t know exactly what to expect, I do know people will be friendly. That’s something I have always liked on our trips there, how friendly people are.”
Applying for the course was the easy part, she says, but fundraising to get there is tougher.
“It was an easy decision to apply, because I knew I wanted to extend my leadership skills, and the process of applying was quite simple. Getting accepted was a great feeling, but it’s not like I am just going to the next town. I have to pay for flights, accommodation and everything so I have been doing various jobs like working at my dad’s sawmill, helping stack and move the wood.”
A grant of $250 from Stratford Lions has also helped, she says, as has setting up a Givealittle page.
“I’m really grateful to the Lions, and to everyone who has helped me fundraise so far.”
When it comes to leadership, Lara says she hopes to be the type of leader who encourages, rather than instructs.
“I think leadership is about more than standing at the front and telling people to do something just because you said so and you say it is good. It’s about doing it yourself and showing people why that thing is good, and making them want to do it themselves.”
Perhaps, she says, on hearing about the Student Leaders Academy from her, some of her peers might consider a similar course. The academy has camps in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga as well as the Cook Islands, and Lara says she would encourage other young leaders to consider applying for one of them.
“I hope people hear about me going on this course and think maybe it’s something they could try as well. I want to inspire others to look for, and take, opportunities to extend and challenge themselves as leaders.”