Tanisha Smith is one smart apple, a “well-deserving” student for Motueka High School’s highest academic prize.
Awarded dux to cap off 13 years locally educated with a taonga representing achievement, strength, health and abundance, carved from pakohe stone by Ngāti Kuia master carver Toro Frank Wells.
A favourable verdict for the young wahine ahead of study towards a law degree.
“I was quite shocked, I was really proud, and just kind of thought all the hard work that I’ve done this year has really paid off,” she says.
“There are so many people this year that were just so deserving… but a lot of my teachers said that I was definitely well-deserving.
“I think after the end of last year, when I actually got the excellence endorsement [for NCEA Level 2], I thought ‘I could actually achieve this’. Then came this year, and I was like ‘I got it last year, I’ve got to get it again’.”
Tanisha did just that, earning an excellence endorsement for NCEA Level 3 before the anxiety-inducing final exams and the finalised results, which are revealed in January.
Her other academic plaudits in Year 13 have included first in business studies and history, and high achiever certificates for English, global studies and photography.
She says time management when hitting the books could be substantial evidence for her academic results.
“Studying whenever you can… I also work at Woolworths, so I’ve had to juggle that, and then I just have to stay up after work and stay up late and try and get things done,” she reflects.
Competitive squash since Year 11 and captaining the house that won for the first time in around 15 to 20 years are other feathers in her cap.
She’s submitted her case for an NCEA photography scholarship and has applied for scholarships at the University of Canterbury, where she’ll study law next year.
“I knew I wanted to go to university, but I didn’t know what for, until my nan passed away in April, when we kind of had to get involved with lawyers,” she says.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I actually might be interested in doing something like this’. I’ve always wanted to help people… and I think that helping people through the law with family law is definitely a good way to go.”
The 18-year-old says her best friends, who were forged in her five years at Motueka High School, are also incoming Cantabs.
