Taranaki young achievers

Palmerston North December 2013 Three Sacred Heart New Plymouth students and one Francis Douglas student are among 26 exceptional young people who have been recognised for their achievements in the…

Palmerston North

December 2013

Three Sacred Heart New Plymouth students and one Francis Douglas student are among 26 exceptional young people who have been recognised for their achievements in the community.

Maria Mosquera and Estella Winnie McGee were both highly commended in the music category of the New Plymouth District Council’s Young Achievers Awards 2013 and Morgan Haakma was highly commended in the female sports achievement award. As well, Joseph Robinson of Francis Douglas Memorial College was highly commended in the Inspiration section. There are nine categories and 14 ‘highly commended’ awards, plus three Mayor’s Choice Awards.

Maria is a talented singer who regularly leads singing at college events, playing a lead role in a school production, and singing in the Tenors Choir.

Estella is an accomplished singer/songwriter and a role model who has taken time to work with and support less-confident, younger talent. This led to her forming a duo which performed at the regional Smokefree Rock Quest, with their success making them eligible to attend the national finals. In 2012 she was a finalist in both the Songwriter of the Year competition and the National Play it Strange song-writing competition. Morgan is a dedicated wakeboarder who is fast becoming the top female wakeboarder in the country, destined to represent New Zealand on the international stage.

For the past three years Joseph has been volunteering with the Red Cross youth programme, No Limits. Starting as a cameraman, he has since become the chief IT expert. He and his team of volunteers have documented the last two initiatives, filming and editing for weeks to create DVDs for  participants. The Year 13 student has also spent the last year helping out with breakfasts and mentoring at Marfell School.