The Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) – Business Division of Te Pūkenga 2022 Award Ceremony, will be held on Tuesday, November 29th, at 7.30pm at the Civic Theatre, Invercargill.
The night of celebrations will see 121 awards presented to successful students in the Health and Humanities; New Media, Arts, Business and Computing; Trades and Technology faculties and the Queenstown Campus.
This year, for one family in particular, there are many reasons to celebrate; three siblings, in three different years, will be rewarded for their diligence tomorrow night. Samantha, Jessica and Jonathan Steininger have all won Top Student Awards in their respective programmes: Samantha will receive the Southwood Export Limited Award for Top Student - Year 3 Bachelor of Engineering Technology; Jessica will receive the Craigs Design & Print Award for Outstanding Student - Year 2 Bachelor of Screen Arts; Jonathan will receive the Focus Technology Group Award for Top Student - Year 1 Bachelor of Information Technology.
They offered some insight into their outstanding results; “As a family, we strive to attain our goals through a balance of academics and fun, which allows us to discover and develop various skills. We believe that success arrives from doing what you love with the support of the people around you.”
Executive Director, Daryl Haggerty, said he was delighted to join in recognising the students’ achievements and mentioned two new scholarships had been added to the awards: The Alloo Fund Award, to encourage and support research into avian-related topics in Southland, and The Annabelle Johri Memorial Scholarship, for Outstanding Improvement and Commitment – New Zealand Certificate in Study and Career Preparation (Level 4).
Self-confessed passionate Southlander, Jason McKenzie, Academy Southland Manager and Mental Skills Coach, is this year’s guest speaker, he will be sharing stories from his Commonwealth Games experience: From Invercargill to Birmingham.
Over the past seventeen years he has worked in the sport pathway, from talent development to High Performance in Athlete Life and Mental Skills’ roles, with a focus on wellbeing, personal development, and performance skills. Mr McKenzie said he enjoys working with athletes to manage the pressures of life and performance at all levels, including the elite, international level, having experienced this as part of the New Zealand Olympic Committee Psychology Team for the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, and also the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. He as also been the Personal Development Manager for the Southland STAGS for the past 15 years.