MAX SURVEYOR College Dux 2019
Diligence pays off, as Max Surveyor has proven. The 18-year-old “set lofty goals” for himself throughout his five years at College and, in 2019, accelerated his studies, resulting in him being named winner of the Wacher Prize for Academic Head of School.
week before College opened for the year in 2015. He quickly settled into Condell’s House and the camaraderie from the outset set the tone for a happy time at College. “The things the older boys did with us were so cool, and now that I’m in Year 13 the roles have been reversed. I think the camaraderie that occurs in the House system is pretty unique to this school.” Max made good friends both in class and in the House. He was in the 1st XI football team in Years 11 and 12, and in 2019, preferring to concentrate on his academic pursuits, he played for the 2nd XI. In 2019 he participated in debating and joined the school’s Character & Leadership Committee, helping with the Emerging Leaders Conference for Year 12 students from schools across the Canterbury region. He has also taken part in extra academic activities outside College, including being a member of the New Zealand team that came 3rd in the world at the International Economics Olympiad in St Petersburg, Russia, and winning the New Zealand Economics Competition. Max finds preparation for such endeavours a pleasure. “I do love my study,” he says. He has found it suits him best to study in the morning before school starts.
“I definitely wanted to do well in my time at College – and this year especially with university examinations,” he says. With a career in finance or business management consulting in his sights, he has applied to the University of Sydney, Australia, to Oxford University, England, and to the world’s top business school, Wharton, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA.
“I find I’m more productive in the morning, so I often get up at around 5 or 6am and work then. And the closer to exams, the better I retain it.” Max takes very few notes, instead learning by listening and reading, particularly the curriculum texts. “I’m definitely more of an oral learner, and will read through old exam papers and refer to text books. I don’t take any notes at all.” With his College days at an end, Max says he feels quite sad walking around the campus he has come to love. “It’s a beautiful place, and I’m definitely going to miss it. I’ve enjoyed it all. I like the uniform here and the emphasis on tradition. I think it’s fabulous.”
Achieving 1550 of a possible 1600 points on the American
SAT examinations, which he sat in College’s third term holidays, gave him a big boost and huge confirmation that he is on the right track. “I think it’s important to set yourself lofty goals and, in the school context, as long as you work hard, they should be achievable.” Max and his family arrived in Christchurch from Melbourne just a “I think it’s important to set yourself lofty goals and, in the school context, as long as you work hard, they should be achievable.” Max Surveyor
College Issue 38 2020
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