On Thursday, 31st of July, a group of Year 11 students were gathered to receive a visit from Tagaloa Samuela, the Marketing Manager and Ali Cowley from Media Design school, Community Engagement. We had a similar experience in year 10, where we were given the opportunity to design our own unique characters - however, today was focused on exploring future study and careers. 

It was a wonderful experience where we were given a closer look at the opportunities Media Design school had to offer - things like Programming, Graphic design, Game development, 3D animation, Visual effects and Motion Graphics. We were shown how some of the past students of the school are currently working for popular studios like Weta FX, Dreamworks, Disney and more. This was very inspirational for us all.

A key take away was the emphasis on understanding how passionate and creative we were for Media Design. We discussed the underrepresentation of Pasifika and Maori students in Creative Media, even though there is high interest in this field. Media Design school is currently working to inspire young Polynesian students, in particular Women, to partake in Media Design if the passion is present. 

For us year 11’s, it was especially interesting to take a look at what the future holds out of high school, for creative students. 

We would like to give a huge thank you to the visitors of Media Design school and Mr Talamaivao and Ms Yates for giving us this amazing opportunity. It was an eye opening experience which inspired us all to expand our interest in Media Design. 

Meitaki Ma’ata (thank you very much in Cook Island)

Roma Bowers-Fleming 11HY

It was a wonderful experience and broadened my view of different options that I have for my career pathways. The opportunity to show our more creative side was clearly shown thanks to the visitors from the Media Design School, and also thanks to Mr Talamaivao and Ms Yates. I’m very grateful for them using their time to come see us and bring this option to our attention. I’m very grateful and enjoyed my time greatly. Thank you to all involved!

Nga mihi

Lyrical Lipsham-Symonds 11EL

Having the Media Design School visit us at school was very special for me and the students who attended, as we got to learn more about the different jobs out there and where those jobs could lead us in the future. It was enlightening to see these kinds of jobs and degrees up close, as they’re normally only something I see on TV or in America, and I have never considered that I could do something like game development here in New Zealand. Hearing from people who study and work in these areas made the idea of doing something creative feel much more real. It also gave me new ideas about the kind of skill I may want to learn and how I could use them in a career one day. I’m thankful for Mr Talamaivao and Ms Yates, who took the time out of his day to organise this visit with the Media Design School, and for giving me the opportunity to look at a wider range of jobs.

Kia ora

Jes Grace 11BN