The Manawatū Youth Council, who run the awards, received 169 student nominations from 22 schools around the district. The theme of this year’s awards had an environmental focus based around Kaitiaki, or guardianship of the land. Students could be nominated in eight categories which are:

• 110% effort (sponsored by AgriHQ)
• Beyond the School Gate (sponsored by Evolve HQ)
• Change Innovator (sponsored by Norwood)
• Cultural Champion (sponsored by Joe McMenamin)
• Giving Back (sponsored by Rotary Club of Feilding Ōroua)
• Inspirational Leadership (sponsored by Ian McKelvie MP)
• Kaitiaki Award (sponsored by PGG Wrightson)
• Kia Kaha Award (sponsored by Rotary Club of Feilding Ōroua)

Manawatū Youth Council Chairperson Zoe Lister paid tribute to those receiving awards saying that  they should all be extremely proud of themselves for what they have achieved over the past year.

Mayor Helen Worboys also addressed the award winners and said the fact so many nominations were received demonstrated that the district produces high achievers from an early age.

“You have all contributed positively to your schools and the wider community, all whilst demonstrating exceptional leadership amongst your peers. What you have all achieved given the challenges that we have experienced over the past two years is remarkable, and you all thoroughly deserve recognition here this evening,” said Mayor Helen.

The guest speaker for the evening was former Feilding High School student Jacinta Gulasekharam, who is a Co-Founder and Director of Dignity – Delivering Period Equity, which looks to provide free period products to women who have limited access to them. She said that Feilding and the Manawatū is a special place and that kids didn’t have to look far to see that they can succeed coming from a small town.

“We are always underdogs but being from Friendly Feilding goes to show that it's not just most beautiful, but people from here can stand tall on the national and international stage. I think of Sarah Hirini, the Whitelocks’, Mihirangi Forbes. Whatever you are passionate about, people from small towns can make a big difference,” said Jacinta.

The winner of the Exceptional Leadership Award was Isabelle Munn, a head student from Rongotea School. In the citation provided to the organising committee, Isabelle was described as a natural leader with many positive qualities. She’s a peer mediator for students at the school and has represented the school at various events and speaking engagements such as ANZAC Day.

For a full list of award winners, a copy of the 2022 yearbook is available from here.