Maximising a one-of-a-kind opportunity at the place he has spent more than half his schooling.
Max Stanton is the Nelson College head boy for 2026, “a big surprise” given the strength of the other candidates who also put themselves forward for the pivotal role.
He has cogent plans up his blazer sleeves for the hundreds of young men he represents, all while emulating the mahi of his predecessors who’ve walked the hallowed grounds of the country’s oldest state secondary school before him.
A future problem-solving and environmental committee member, and former underwater hockey and debating representative, Stanton wants students to give 110 per cent in their academics and increase participation across school committees and clubs.
“Having more people who are motivated to strive for stuff throughout the school is going to heighten everything,” he enthuses.
“If you've got motivated students throughout those committees, you can have the same pathways I had, which is wanting to succeed yourself.
“Being a part of those, I got towards being a lot more confident and a lot more driven. You saw all the senior students, and that gave you people to look up to, and I think without that I probably wouldn't have even considered trying for head boy.”
Max has been at the college since preparatory school in year seven, and says it has become more than “just a place I go and then I go home”.
He says this has also led him to step into leading the student body.
“After year nine, I started being more warmly appreciative of the school, mostly because of the committees,” he reflects.
“They made me feel at home in the school, like I was a part of the community, and that really enhanced my school experience.”
Deeper connections with teachers formed for Max when he entered NCEA stage.
“Getting as much as I could out of them for academic success,” he says.
“As I've gotten to be a part of culture, I've gotten to see what the role requires, what you've got to do for it, the things not to do, the things to do - and I know I'll try my very best to do it as well as I can.”
With excellence endorsements in NCEA levels 1 and 2, it’s been a real shot in the arm for Max’s medicine ambitions, which he intends to study after graduation.
“Becoming a doctor, you really get to interact with a lot of people, and you get to be a part of the community, particularly in a smaller city like Nelson,” he says.
“That would be a really valuable opportunity, as well as having a job that I'm really passionate about, because the sciences are something I'm really interested in.”
With both head boy and personal objectives, Max’s year 13 will be lived to the max.
