Having become Ōpōtiki College dux, Niki Black, 17, now has plans to study for a Bachelor of Business at the University of Waikato.

Niki says she wouldn’t swap her years at the school as they represented her life experience and will miss the many friends she has made there. The next few years at university represented a challenge, as she would major in marketing, with a minor in accountancy.

“I have learnt to be quite independent at this school, and it’s been good. All the teachers have been there to push me in the right direction, and I was able to forge some close relationships.”

Niki’s immediate aim is to get a degree behind her.

“I am not 100 percent sure what I would like to do, though I know I must get a degree behind my name.

“But it’s okay, as I’ve got three years to decide where I want to go from there.”

Niki also gained a Waikato University Scholarship Te Paewai o te Rangi, awarded for outstanding academic achievement. It is valued at $30,000 and only awarded to a small group of recipients.

Mia McWatters, the proxime accessit in science, plans to take a gap year, which is likely to involve getting a job before travelling around Europe from a base in the UK.

Mia credits Ōpōtiki College as being a place that fosters character development.

The way it operates, the friends you make and the teachers being there to help you really build character, she says.

Long drawn to the idea of building a naval career, Mia said the Royal New Zealand Navy was an employer with much of what she was looking for, including an outdoor life with plenty of challenges.

“Yes, there are a few areas I am interested in, but the navy appeals. I can’t see me settling for a desk job.”

The proxime accessit in humanities, Ethan Beach, is also headed for the University of Waikato, where he plans to study for a Batchelor of Science majoring in mathematics. Ethan also gained the Bay of Plenty Education Trust Scholarship.

He said he is attracted to the field of games development but also interested in teaching as a career.