Some would say academic success must run in the blood for Ella Austin, the Year 13 Awatapu College student who was named the school's Dux Litterarum on Thursday night.
Family, friends and classmates celebrated Austin's honour with a thunderous standing ovation as Awatapu principal Gary Yeatman announced the title at the Palmerston North secondary school's Senior Honours Awards on Thursday night, at the Regent Theatre.
Austin, who is 17, won the Central Districts Indian Community Nettin Patel Memorial Scholarship for the Dux Litterarum - the College's most superior award - and the Sims Cup for Dux Litterarum that also accompanies the award.
This success follows in her sister Charlotte Austin's footsteps, who was the school's Dux Litterarum in 2012.
Achieving NCEA Level One and Two with excellence endorsement, Austin is set on achieving her NCEA Level Three also with excellence endorsement. She also received the Sims Cup for English, for being the top Year 13 English student in the College as well as being named an Awatapu Scholar and winning the Awapuni Rotary Club Service Award.
Austin was the School Council secretary this year, has been involved with the Cancer Society and Relay for Life as well as World Vision and being the organiser of 40 Hour Famine. She was also a member of the ball committee, Archiving and Book Club and organised a bake sale for the Epilepsy Foundation.
Austin is a member of the local branch of ZONTA, was a peer support leader mentoring new Year 9 students to the College and has attended model Commonwealth Heads of Government and United Nations conferences. She holds her Queen's Guide Award, the highest honour that can be earned as a Girl Guide.
In September, Austin's many hours of community service were recognised when she earned the Trustpower Palmerston North Youth Community Spirit Award.
Throughout the evening, the College's performing arts department showcased some talented students within The All Sorts ukelele group, Jasmin McNabb and Renee McDonald's duet, jazz group Metrobop and the school choir. Metrobop's performance of Tuxedo Junction was groovy, while McNabb and McDonald's duet of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's movie hit When You Believe, had the audience and official party awestruck.
For her academic achievements this year, Amy Atkins was also named an Awatapu Scholar and Proxime Accessit, the runner up to the Dux Litterarum.
Atkins has NCEA Level One and Two with merit endorsement and was first in Year 13 Drama and Mathematics with Statistics. She is also a talented poet, with a love for poetry and Shakespeare, reading a piece of her work - 30 Words composed in Order of Appearance during a game of Scrabble - as part of the ceremony. The poem was included in the Poems4Peace 2014 analogy, of which Atkins presented a copy to Yeatman.
An arts captain, a member of Metrobop and the College's two ukelele groups, Atkins won the Principal's Cup for Performing Arts Performer of the Year as well as the Manawatū womens writer award for her poetry.
Honours Awards also went to Samantha Tothe, Kara Macdermid and Shane Mihaere.
Tothe was named an Awatapu Scholar and received a Victoria University Achievers Scholarship and an Awatapu College PTA scholarship.
Macdermid and Mihaere were named conjoint winners of the Dux Ludorum for Sport for 2014, the second year in a row for Macdermid who won the award alone last year.
Macdermid continues to be an outstanding athlete, being a code winner for Athletics at the Manawatū Secondary School Sports Awards last week and competing overseas numerous times.
Mihaere was not present at the ceremony, as he was travelling to the roller speed skating world championships in Argentina. He also received the Taylor Mihaere Cup for the Maori Sportsperson of the Year as well as being a code winner for Inline Skating at last week's Manawatū Secondary School Sports Awards. Mihaere's father accepted the award on his behalf.
Distinction Awards were given to Panayota Dowrick, Megan Lawton, Malina Hargreaves, Anna McKean and Natalia Rangiwananga.
Dowrick received her award for service to the College and also the Palmerston North Returned Services Association service award.
Lawton picked up her award for establishing an art club in the College and being a panellist of Seeking Success, a funding agency to support students financially in extra-curricular activities.
Hargreaves received the Craig Biddick-Chris Taylor Bunsen Burner Award for placing first in Year 13 Chemistry, as well as the Dean Halford Prize for the top Year 13 mathematician.
McKean earned an Awatapu College Educational Trust scholarship and entry into Te Koki New Zealand School of Music.
Rangiwananga received an academic distinction award and a Awatapu College PTA scholarship, as well as being the most promising Maori achiever in Year 13.
In other categories, Co-leaders Seamus Elliott and Malama Igatia received the Principal's prize for serving as co-leaders. Igatia was also awarded the Whakamana Pasifika Cup, a prize which is awarded to the most academic Pasifika student.
Victoria Buckley received the Sandy Hargreaves Memorial Cup for placing first in Year 13 Biology. Karly Kimura received the Megan Bowater Cup for a girl who plays netball and is a friendly, all round academic student, as well as being the co-recipient of the Marilyn Brown Memorial Scholarship, alongside McDonald. Courtney Hubbard was the top Te Reo Maori student in the College for the second consecutive year.
At the beginning of the evening, the successful candidates for the College's student leadership positions were announced by outgoing co-leaders Elliott and Igatia.
The co-leaders for 2015 were named as Kalym Smith and Paige Parker, while the secretary and the treasurer of the School Council will be Zara Gribbin and Arron Hefford respectively. Sam Phiri will complete the executive council as the Board of Trustees student representative.
The sports captains will be Mika Smith and Jennifer Argyle. Lauren Gifford-Moore and Kieran Murphy were named as arts captains.
The College's four houses will be lead by Caitlin Bartosh and Euan Scott (Rutherford), Macdermid and Dylan Hannah (Hillary), Chloe Maxwell and James Scott (Ngata) and Danielle Westwood and Scott Allan-Ngatai (Sheppard); Rutherford going into 2015 holding Te Parata, the interhouse trophy, after winning it in 2013 and back again after losing it to other houses during the year.
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