Inspire Her Conference 2019
By Bev Bell | Posted: Tuesday September 17, 2019
A Year 7 girl leader from every class had the priviledge to go to the Annual ‘Inspire Her’ Conference at Cathedral Grammar on the 5th of September. And wow, was it inspiring!
Marg Foster was a very humorous and entertaining MC. She introduced four speakers and this is what they all had to share with us.
Temalisi Fakahokotau-
Temalisi has eight siblings, seven brothers and one sister. Her dad had to work three jobs in order to put dinner on the table, clothes on their bodies and a roof over their head. She said her dad never once complained about it. Her favourite day was when she was eight and she got her first ever Christmas present. . . . a skipping rope. From this day she would never walk down the street, she would skip down the street. Then years down the track she made a Rep netball team. Next she made the Tactix team. Best of all, she made the Silver Ferns Squad! She even made the World Cup squad twice but unfortunately, both times she had serious injuries so she couldn’t play. The first time was in 2015 and the second time was 2019. In 2015 she got her hand cut by a blender because the glass broke and it cut her hand and 2019 she ruptured her ACL in her right knee. Both were very serious injuries and both resulted in surgery. This year she is hoping to come back and have another shot. The strong message we got from Temalisi is never, ever give up!
Moana Williams-
One late night Moana and her mum were sitting on the couch, when they heard a knock at the door. Standing at the door were two police men saying that they had some disappointing news. They came inside her house and said that her dad’s car hadn’t made it over the bridge and it was assumed that he had drowned. A couple of days later the police came back and said that his body and car had been washed up on shore. This made for a very tough start to her life. However she realised after a while that she could either wallow in self pity or develop a positive mind-set and make the most of every day. In Year 13 she became head girl of Hornby High. She was undecided about what she wanted to do with her life but worked out that she loved sport so her future career should have something to do with that. She started working in the fitness industry at the age of 17. Now a she owns a gym.
Anthony Beks-
Anthony talked to us about stress, and how yoga is really good for your body when you are dealing with stress. Food can affect your mood. Foods that are high in sugar may be delicious but they really aren't as good for your mood as foods with less fat are! He said you should only use your bed for sleeping, so set up a good sleep routine - drinking water and eating food before you go to bed is very bad. Anthony learnt to swim in the Avon river, seeing as his parents couldn’t pay for him to do proper swimming lessons and the Avon was two minutes from his house! A few years later his mother was diagnosed with cancer and she could not do much so she lay in bed all day feeling very unwell! Anthony and his siblings were too hard to handle for their poor sick mum at this time so she sent them to New Brighton swimming club where they learnt to swim properly! A few years after lots of practise he got into Canterbury champs! He lost and then thought he would never be able to succeed again! He developed a more positive mindset and after about 10 years, found himself competing in the Olympics. His message to share is, ‘’When you feel stressed, breathe a big deep breath in, and let it all out, also believe in what you can achieve!’’
Erica Austin-Knopp-
Erica is an architect, who was based in Auckland. She moved down to Christchurch after the earthquake hit in February 2011. Erica saw an opportunity to do something meaningful for Christchurch. She created a huge 30 metre tower and a huge origami path. Erica creates events for people to understand their passion. She joined the Ministry of Awesome with other like-minded people who do the same things she does. Coffee and Jam takes place every Tuesday and is a place where you can go on a stage and speak about something you feel strongly about. She wants to keep helping and connecting people and giving to the community. Erica created her own business called Erocreation. She is involved with TEDx as well. Another thing Erica identifies herself with is as a #ChChAmbassador. She doesn't get paid for being an Ambassador. She uses social media to tell people about Christchurch. She also does things for exhibitions!
She said the three points to succeed are:
Motivation
What & why
Skills & tools
Some of her top values are . . .
inspiration, passion, family, vision, freedom, adventure, health, connection, creativity, balance, lifestyle, courage, determination, friends and authenticity.
- by Ashleigh Peters and Lucy Jackson
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