“You’ve got to want it, and first of all you have to knowwhat you want. You’ve got to set a realistic and achievable goal, and then from that goal, you can work out how you’re going to achieve it.” John-Paul Lay
STAR course at the University of Canterbury. He already has an A+ in this course and second year entry to Electrical Engineering relies upon him getting a good mark in his NCEA Level 3 Physics external. “I looked at Law, or doing a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry or Physics, but I’ve become very interested in renewable energy, which is why I’m going to be doing Electrical Engineering. There are plenty of pathways to be involved with it, I think.” The future is looking very attractive to John-Paul, who says he’s excited to be going out and doing things at university.
“I have a system where I split up my day and do Sciences and Mathematics in the mornings, and Humanities and subjects requiring more analysis in the afternoons. It seems to work for me.” During term time he finds it useful to take handwritten notes in class. “It’s handy to be able to look back over them, but by the time exams come I’ve internalised it. Study varies from subject to subject, and with Science and Maths it’s often best to do practice papers; for English and Humanities, it’s about applying the content.” While taking the full load at College, John-Paul was also studying a first year Mathematics
“Meeting new people, taking on a bit more responsibility; College has been great, but it’s time to go.” And his advice to would-be Proxime Accessit candidates? “You’ve got to want it, and first of all you have to know what you want. You’ve got to set a realistic and achievable goal, and then from that goal, you can work out how you’re going to achieve it.”
College Issue 40 2021
07
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog