Going to places they’ve never been

Since 1989, the founding year, the St Patrick’s Day Golf Classic Charitable Trust has applied funds raised at its annual golf tournament (St Patricks Day Charity Golf Classic) to benefit young people and quite often those in need. In 2003 the trustees announced the inception of its Fianna Scholarships. It was decided that each year it would provide scholarships which would enable two young year 11 and 12 people from the North Harbour region to undertake a three week Mind, Body & Soul course at Outward Bound at Anakiwa in the Marlborough Sounds. This course is well known to provide invaluable life skills which the founding trustees believed would contribute immensely to the personal growth of these youngsters.

The inaugural scholarship winners were announced in 2004. They were Courtney Miller of Westlake Girls High School and Paul Hellyer of Rosmini College. Every year since, two students – most often from the same North Harbour school – have received the scholarship and attended Outward Bound. In 2011, following the Christchurch earthquake, the Fianna Scholarships were awarded to four deserving students from that city.

The trust asks the selected school to pick the recipients, with the only criteria being that it is unlikely that family circumstances would enable the recipients to easily afford the course fees and air fares to Anakiwa.

During February, Channel Mag’s Aidan Bennett caught up with four scholarship recipients for 2021 and 2022. He put some questions to them about their Outward Bound experience. Liam Louden-Taylor (Westlake Boys) attended the course in January 2022, while Tyler Pulini (Westlake Boys), Ayesha Bhandari and Alex Craig (both Mahurangi College) attended in January this year, 2023.

 

Liam Louden-Taylor (Westlake Boys)

Liam is now 18 years old, is in his first year out of school and is currently working as a labourer (with ambitions to do a building apprenticeship), at Countdown and his family business. He lives at home with his parents and sister and has a keen interest in cars, particularly modifying his car in his spare time.

AIDAN BENNETT: Was it something that you were excited about or a little nervous about, or a bit of both? Did you have to think about going once you were chosen or did you jump at the chance?

LIAM LOUDEN-TAYLOR: To be honest when I first got offered the opportunity I had no clue what it was or what it was about! It quickly became a firm no for me, but after many family friends who had been on the course told me how great it was, it changed my mind and I became keen but very nervous.

AIDAN: Summarise your experience of the three weeks.

LIAM: The three weeks could arguably have been the best three weeks of my life. I met a great group of people who I became very close to during the time that I was there. It was the most physically and mentally challenging endeavour I had ever done. It also opened up my mind to a whole new variety of activities and fun I could have. It was filled with camping, sailing, hiking, leaning how to survive, and much more.

AIDAN: What was your favourite part or task that you undertook during the three weeks and why?

LIAM: My favourite part would have had to be the way it drags you far out of your comfort zone, which sounds daunting but changed who I was once I had returned.

AIDAN: On a scale of one being easy and 10 being very challenging, where did this course sit for you on that scale?

LIAM: his course would have to be up there close to a 10 on how challenging it was. It is regarded as one of the most challenging things in New Zealand.

AIDAN: What did you learn about yourself on the course and how will that help you as a person in the future?

LIAM: I learnt how to be a better me, through techniques and activities the instructors got us to do, sharing with people on a pretty deep level. Learning what I was capable of and how that attitude that I gained from the course would continue with me for the rest of my life.

AIDAN: Would you recommend the course to others?

LIAM: Yes, one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

 

Tyler Pulini (Westlake Boys)

Tyler Pulini is 17 years old and is in year 13 at Westlake Boys. He has two younger brothers, one being a quadruplegic. His hobbies include playing rugby, touch, tag, and Sevens which he plays for both Westlake and outside of school for other rep teams. He is in his last year of school and is a prefect for 2023. His plan is to become a professional rugby player or to work in a trade.

AIDAN BENNETT: Was it something that you were excited about or a little nervous about, or a bit of both? Did you have to think about going once you have been chosen or did you jump at the chance.

TYLER PULINI: Due to having no idea what Outward Bound was, I didn't really have much interest in the opportunity at first. However after a while when I got a better understanding of what this course was all about and what it had to offer, I just thought why not? I would say that I was a little nervous just because I was stepping into unknown territory a bit, but other than that I was pretty keen to leave Auckland and try something new.

AIDAN: Summarise your experience of the three weeks.

TYLER: My experience of the Outward Bound course was crazy. It took me a while to adjust to the early wake-ups and the PT sessions in the morning but I got used to it. All the activities we did were amazing apart from the half marathon and the 14 hour tramps through the forest! But best of all was all the laughs, chats and connections you make with everyone just made you forget about home and everything else.

AIDAN: What was your favourite part or task that you undertook during the three weeks and why?

TYLER: My favourite part would be the manu sessions we got to do off the wharf because it's just such a fun activity to do especially when you pop good ones and everyone is like "oooooooo farr thats a good one!”.

AIDAN: On a scale of one being easy and 10 being very challenging, where did this course sit for you on that scale?

TYLER: I would say that this course sat on a 8/10 in terms of it being challenging which was a bit of a surprise to me because I thought the course wouldn't have much to offer me when it came to physical activity because I came from a sporting background and was already quite fit and strong. But to my surprise some of these activities we did were really physically straining especially the hikes with the packs on and the half marathon.

AIDAN: What did you learn about yourself on the course and how will that help you as a person in the future?

TYLER: What I really gained from the course was that I could feel I had developed more of a fixed mindset and was more motivated and focused on my goals and what I wanted to achieve, which is really important for me moving forward because I’m coming into my last year of school and I want to make all these rep teams and stuff. So I need to have a better mindset when approaching the things that I want so I can achieve my goals.

AIDAN: Would you recommend the course to others?

TYLER: Yes I would recommend the course to others because it's just such a great experience to isolate yourself away from the world and all the outside noise and just connect with a bunch of other great individuals, allowing you to discover things in yourself that you may not have known was there.

 

Ayesha Bhandari (Mahurangi College)

Ayesha Bhandari is 17 years old and lives in Warkworth with her mum, dad, brother and cat. She enjoys spending time outdoors as much as possible but also staying home with her cat. Ayesha also likes trying out new sports but says she might not stick to them for a long time. She is involved in the mediation team at school and says if there is an opportunity to help in the community she does. Ayesha plans on having a café business, becoming a lawyer – or both!

AIDAN BENNETT: Was it something that you were excited about or a little nervous about, or a bit of both? Did you have to think about going once you have been chosen or did you jump at the chance.

AYESHA BHANDARI: I was really excited when I first signed up for the Outward Bound Mind Body and Soul course and I didn't think much of it as I didn't really know what to expect. When I got to know about the whole course and how it's going be run, I was quite nervous because I felt as though I might not be able to keep up with the rest of the people there 'cause I am not the fittest and might get left behind but I am quite surprised I did quite well.

AIDAN: Summarise your experience of the three weeks.

AYESHA: My experience with the course was interesting, fun, exciting and slightly scary 'cause we did a lot of things that I had never done before or even heard of before. So it was a bit scary sometimes! It was fun because I enjoyed all of the activities we did but also because I met so many amazing people. They were just the nicest people I had ever met and were just so fun to be around.

AIDAN: What was your favourite part or task that you undertook during the three weeks and why?

AYESHA: I really enjoyed sailing because as a group we had a lot of bonding time, because we were sleeping, pooping, and eating on a 10-metre boat with 14 people. I also think tramping was also one of my favourite activities because I didn't think I would be able to go up and down these massive mountains for three days straight but I did and I was surprised.

AIDAN: On a scale of one being easy and 10 being very challenging, where did this course sit for you on that scale?

AYESHA: The course for me would be somewhere between 5 and 8 because all the activities we did were new to me but some were easy to learn, some were a bit harder and some of them were just about not giving up, such as tramping. It was the hardest part of the overall course for me.

AIDAN: What did you learn about yourself on the course and how will that help you as a person in the future?

AYESHA: Something I learnt about myself is that I am willing to take on challenges to learn and experience new things. This would help me in the future as I won't shy away from new challenges and keep on learning new things and gaining more knowledge as I go through my life.

AIDAN: Would you recommend the course to others?

AYESHA: YES! I think this is a great course for everyone as well as a great experience. They take away any form of distraction so I think people can really appreciate everything around them such as nature, the people and really focus and get into the activities and give their best. Therefore I would highly recommend this course to everyone.

I also really wanted to say a big thanks to the trust for giving me the opportunity to go on the Outward Bound Course. It was a great lovely experience and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

 

Alex Craig (Mahurangi College)

Alex is a 17-year-old student from Mahurangi College. He was born in Portland (Oregon, USA) and lived there until he was three. From there his family moved to Playa Potrero in Costa Rica where his parents ran a small surf school for five years before they left to live in New Zealand. At school, Alex enjoys taking part in school theatre productions, and getting involved in school-wide house activities. Alex has been surfing since he was born and still loves to surf down at his local beach. He also likes to spend his free time hiking, free diving, and reading. Alex intends to complete a BCom and a BA at either the University of New South Wales or the University of Sydney to hopefully lead to an acting/business career.

AIDAN BENNETT: Was it something that you were excited about or a little nervous about, or a bit of both? Did you have to think about going once you have been chosen or did you jump at the chance.

ALEX CRAIG: When I heard about this incredible opportunity I immediately jumped at it and was so excited to hear that I got it. I was a little nervous before the trip as I had never done something like this before, but overall I was incredibly excited.

AIDAN: Summarise your experience of the three weeks.

ALEX: Over the three weeks, I had the time of my life as part of the watch Kupe 697. I summited three 1300 metre peaks over a two-and-a-half day tramp. I got to white-water kayak two rivers and sailed the length of the Queen Charlotte Sound. I could feel myself getting stronger every day and loved the feeling of becoming a more physically capable person.

AIDAN: What was your favourite part or task that you undertook during the three weeks and why?

ALEX: My favourite part of the three-week trip had to be the sailing or the morning 3km runs. I used to sail as a kid with my grandfather, and sailing on the course re-ignited my love for sailing. We also got the incredible experience of seeing orcas, Hector's dolphins, and seals. I also love to run; the morning 3km's were so nice because the weather was cool and the sunrises were beautiful.

AIDAN: On a scale of one being easy and 10 being very challenging, where did this course sit for you on that scale?

ALEX: On a scale of one to ten in terms of difficulty, I would say the course was about a seven. I never found the physical aspect too challenging, which wasn’t to say it was easy. I just had pretty good fitness beforehand, but the mental challenge of the course was huge.

AIDAN: What did you learn about yourself on the course and how will that help you as a person in the future?

ALEX: It forced/allowed me to learn so much about myself, especially over the two-day solo. Over the course, I learned how to be so much more resilient in the face of adversity which is going to help in the coming years as I leave home and face the challenge of transitioning to adulthood.

AIDAN: Would you recommend the course to others?

ALEX: I would recommend this course to anyone who gets the chance. I learned so much about myself over the three weeks and had the best time. Going for this scholarship is hands down the best decision I’ve ever made, and I am so incredibly grateful to the people at the Saint Patricks Day Trust for funding my trip.