There she won a scholarship to study law.
At Waikato University she completed undergraduate degrees in management accounting and law, before gaining a Graduate Diploma in Economics.
"I initially wanted to be an accountant, though fell in love with law in Hamilton," she said.
Now she intends to fuse the two passions together working for the Inland Revenue Department in Hamilton, where she is an investigator.
"It's very exciting," Miss Smith told the Chronicle, shaking with nervousness following the admission ceremony.
"The work I do is largely office based, though I am now qualified to practise in court and hope to do so soon."
Miss Dempsey has the health of the planet on her mind - and intends to go into environmental law.
Also a Wanganui girl at heart, she attended St John's Hill Primary and Rutherford Junior High before completing school at WHS - just two years after Miss Smith.
"I went to Otago University in Dunedin, but spent my final semester at Western University in Ontario, Canada. It was fantastic," she told the Chronicle.
She is looking forward to starting at her first professional position with Simpson-Grierson in Auckland. There, she said, she would starting on the commercial property law team, working in resource management.
Criminal law, family law and resource management were her majors at university - law in general was a foregone conclusion.
"I've known this would be the path I took since I was at high school - my mother and stepfather are both lawyers."
Her aunt also happens to be Justice Sarah Katz, who attended the ceremony in full judiciary garb, including wig.
Both young women were visibly excited at the prospect of pursuing their careers.
"It's a thrill and a relief," said Miss Dempsey.
Before they left Wanganui for Auckland and Hamilton, they celebrated their accomplishments with family and friends.