Methven student picked for TeenAg leadership course

20 April 2018

Methven student Kate Braidwood picked for TeenAg leadership course in Twizel

Methven student Kate Braidwood has spent the start of the school holidays honing her leadership skills.

The 17-year-old was one of 18 South Island students selected to attend a three-day leadership programme in Twizel.

The course called Raising the Standards was run by NZ Young Farmers and funded by DairyNZ.

It was designed to enhance the skills of emerging leaders within TeenAg clubs.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Kate, who’s the secretary of the TeenAg club at Mt Hutt College.

“I met lots of like-minded people, made new friends and learned a lot about myself.”

Students were taught how to set goals, communicate, deal with conflict, run effective meetings and write a curriculum vitae.

“It’s about producing confident young adults who can excel in the primary industries,” said Mary Holmes from NZ Young Farmers.

Kate plans to study a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at Lincoln University next year.

“Over the three days we met a vet, a shepherd and a farm manager,” she said. “Their advice was really helpful.”

The students visited High Country Salmon, which is one of three farms raising salmon on the hydro canals surrounding Twizel.

A shop at the farm can attract “up to 1000 visitors a day during the summer”.

“It’s a family-owned business with an interesting business model,” said Mary.

“It was fascinating learning how salmon can put on weight more quickly than cattle because they use less energy.”

The course wrapped up yesterday and is the first of three planned across New Zealand this year.

TeenAg clubs are a key part of the work being done by NZ Young Farmers to attract students into the agri-food sector.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_S1ccyCDY98sCxVgLEFB8ezPgLqWp-RQ

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