Congrats Olivia!

Let’s celebrate Olivia Simes and her completion of the NZ Diploma in Youth Work.

Lower North Whanau Trust peeps gathered with Olivia and her whanau at the recent Praxis Youth Training graduation to mark this milestone.

For the last two years, we have supported Olivia in her studies and mentored her in becoming a great youth worker.

Her studies included a community profile in year one to connect with support agencies, iwi and youth workers are in her area ss well as learn the makeup of the community she is working in.

She also completed many hours of mentoring young people one on one. In year two she took a group of young people on a liminal experience and then completed a community eco-project with those same young people, as well as working with them on what they value and aspire to.

We are proud and excited for Olivia and we look forward to what her youth work will look like in years to come. Watch this space as we cheer Olivia on.

There are not many graduations that compare to Praxis. It is a night of waiata, lollie lei's, haka and an ability to support graduates far beyond your usual graduation.

The graduation includes an agency lunch and the formal graduation in the evening. At the lunch it was a chance for agencies to share a bit about the graduate and their time working with them as they completed their qualification.

In the evening celebration, as Olivia received her qualification, agencies, family and friends are invited to gather around the graduate and waiata tautoko their student in support of what they have achieved. It is here that gifts and lollie lei's are presented to the graduates.

Youth worker, David Prendergast is halfway towards receiving his qualification. The graduation was a chance to celebrate his success so far and push him onwards to completion in 2023.