Bachelor of Environmental Management student Troy Kendall, is loving his first year studying in Invercargill with Southern Institute of Technology (SIT). The 18 year old comes from a small Waikato town but has enjoyed his time in Invercargill so much, he now sees Southland as home.
Since beginning his course in February, Troy has found his studies have motivated him to get involved in numerous outdoor activities, a far cry from what he now sees as his unmotivated and under-achieving former self.
“I am currently in the process of becoming a mountaineer and am organising a tramp from Bluff to Picton. Studying at SIT has dramatically changed my attitude towards life.”
Once his course finishes for the year in November, Troy will be starting his Bluff to Picton hike to raise money for New Zealand youth wanting to enjoy the outdoors. Enjoying the outdoors is a way of life for Troy and The Bachelor of Environmental Management fits perfectly with his lifestyle.
“SIT’s classrooms are interactive and lively, we get to go on fieldtrips to various locations regularly and we learn practical, real-life skills that are needed for the workplace, which is awesome.”
Choosing to study at SIT mainly because of the Zero Fees scheme*, and because his mum had told him to check out their website, Troy has discovered that SIT offers so much more than zero fees.
“I believe SIT’s classroom based environment is a lot more family and community-like when it comes to peer to peer relationships. Students become close to their classmates and form close bonds doing a lot of course related activities together. I was expecting SIT to be just another type of tertiary institution where you do the papers and exams and repeat, but it is completely different to what I thought it would be. Their way of teaching and learning is different to just sitting and listening.”
Troy says that studying at SIT has made him a lot more confident and open to new activities, such as taking up mountaineering. The course assignments are hands on and he enjoys the fact that this makes the learning environment feel much more positive.
“It has also made me a lot more motivated to go and do more for myself and those in the community and wider New Zealand”.
Thinking about taking a gap year part way through his study to work and earn a bit of money, as well as to take up the opportunity he has been offered to climb peaks and traverse passes in the Himalayas, Troy aims to complete his study by the end of 2020. His plans then involve travelling and either volunteering or working abroad, in different countries around the world, with his eventual goal to hike and climb peaks in various locations across the planet.
Highly recommending SIT and the Bachelor of Environmental Management to prospective students, Troy states that “the course is awesome, I could not have chosen better. My classmates and tutors are great, I really enjoy the trips we take and we learn essential skills that we will need after we finish the course, in a practical environment. I could not have chosen a better place to study!”