PNBHS NEWS

Leavers’ Dinner

 
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Leavers’ Dinner
Gerard Atkin發表於2019年 11月 5日(Tue) 19:56
 

Thank you to Old Boy Mr. John-Daniel Trask (1996 – 2000) who was the guest speaker at the Year 13 Leavers’ Dinner last night.  Mr. Trask is the CEO and founder of technology company Raygun, and he used his pathway through school, university, into the workforce and entrepreneurship to highlight some key messages for our young men as they prepare to leave school. 

Mr. Trask described his entrepreneurial background, which began while he was a student at PNBHS, when he wrote and sold software he had written.  While studying at Massey University he ran a mobile PC repair business.  After graduating with a Bachelor of Information Science majoring in Computer Science, he moved to Wellington for employment and set about learning as much as he could about the business and programming world before setting out to start his own company.  In 2016 Mr. Trask was awarded the Distinguished Young Alumni Award by Massey University, while the company be founded, Raygun, recently won the Global Gold category at the Wellington Gold Awards.

Some of Mr. Trask’s messages included:

·       Learn to play the game of life – figure out what the ‘rules’ are in any situation and then figure out how you can use them to achieve your goals

·       It is good to know what you want to do in the future, but don’t be in too much of a rush to get there

·       No matter how awkward it can be to be honest, be honest

·       “Act with integrity as much as you can and it’s pretty hard to go wrong”

·       In the workplace – look for opportunities to contribute, take on responsibility and you will quickly forge a reputation for yourself that will serve you well

·       It is important to work hard and create your own luck – often you only realise the connections and opportunities you have created when you are looking back

·       Don’t spend too much time dwelling on failure – look for the opportunities that have been created

·       Frequently push yourself out of your comfort zone

·       Never be afraid to reach out to people and make connections

·       Keep reading – this allows you to learn from what the experts have already figured out

Thank you to Mrs. Rankin and Mrs. Shorter for their organisation of the evening and the College House catering staff for their efforts in providing an outstanding meal.

Good luck to all of our leavers for the upcoming examinations and for their lives beyond school.