On Tuesday, 22 June a group of six girls including myself went to a conference at Massey University called PILOT (Pasifika Island Leaders of Tomorrow). The theme of the day was ‘Our ancestors were LEADERS, they were one with the sea’.  From this quote alone, we learnt that the sea created a sense of purpose, therefore opening channels of opportunity. We listened to guest speaker, Arizona Ledger, who spoke about bravery and how important it is to be able to be brave enough to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations, so that in the future we know how to react and not to cave nor fold if it were to ever get tough. Arizona has inspired me to not only be brave but to be the best person I possibly can regardless of the situation I am in. The sessions we took part in involved talking about leadership styles and qualities which gave us an understanding of the way we lead in our communities. Another thing I took away from the sessions is that our names tell a story, especially if you are someone like myself who have multiple names and so we should share those stories with our friends. We also were able to interact with our Pasifika peers from schools all over Auckland which was an enjoyable part of the day.  Overall, it was a special day and I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to go to the Year 12 PILOT session.

Armani Mene-Tuimavave & Moira Macdonald, Year 12