Get to know Marieke and Aidan from Mount Albert Grammar School
A couple of weeks ago Mia visited the SADD leaders at MAGS (Mount Albert Grammar School). Marieke and Aidan kindly took some time to answer her questions and it is always interesting to see what SADD groups are up to and get to know our students a little bit more. MAGS has currently 75 members in their SADD group!!
Mia: “Hi Marieke and Aidan it is so lovely to meet you and see what you have been up to. Tell me something about yourself.”
Marieke: “I like to get involved in a lot of stuff. I love sports such as rowing and lacrosse. I am also involved in other clubs at school like the ball committee and the academic council. Interacting with other like minded people is fun.”
Mia: “Sounds like you are very busy and active. That is awesome. How about you Aidan?”
Aidan: “I am quite similar to Marieke, I also like to get involved with other groups and I really enjoy organising stuff. One of my other interests is orienteering.”
Mia: Wow Orienteering that sounds interesting. It is certainly a skill to find your way through unfamiliar terrain without using Google Maps these days. This leads me to the next question about your SADD group. When did you join SADD? What have you been doing so far?”
Marieke: “I got involved with SADD in 2019 and started slowly. Then I realised how much impact it has and I felt encouraged to do more.”
Aidan: For me it was similar. I joined SADD in 2019 and I was just supporting under a different leadership. Since Marieke took up the leadership role I got more proactive too.”
Mia: “This is great to hear. It always takes time to get comfortable in a new group. Do you have any plans for SAFER September?”
Marieke: “Yes we do and we would like your feedback on that hence we wanted to meet you today. We are looking for a great activity to run throughout lunch time. Also we like the idea of ball packs. Our school ball is one of our highlights at school.”
Mia: “Fantastic. Yes, absolutely I will show you more ideas for your lunchtime activity after our interview. The ball pack is a great idea and each school adds a different flavour into their packs. The key message is to keep your peers safe and to ensure best road safety practice. I hope you will have an awesome ball. Despite your passion for SADD, do you have some favourite subjects in school?”.
Aidan: “I like Geography and History. I find other cultures and their history fascinating. I have been to Europe a couple of times. I am passionate about understanding the WHY - why have things developed the way they are today”
Marieke: “My favourite subjects are Biology and Media.”
Mia: “This sounds great. It is always good to be passionate about something. Since this year has been a little restricted with travelling overseas let's dream about the future. What is your favourite holiday destination?”
Marieke: “Greece! It was amazing. I love the islands. They were absolutely beautiful. This is my dream destination. I got to experience lots of different activities that I would not have done elsewhere such as scuba diving. I can highly recommend going there if you get the chance. “
Mia: “Yes, you have sold me on that one. Even though I am from Europe I have not been to Greece. It is definitely on my top 10 list of places to go. How about you Aidan?”
Aidan: “I also love Europe and my favourite destinations are Spain and Greece. I love the culture and nature. It is so different from here.”
Mia: “Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me answering all my questions. I hope you get to travel soon to your dream destinations. I am excited to see your plans shaping up for your SAFER September activities.”
Whether you have 75 members in your SADD group or 2, you can make an impact. We love hearing about the differences and similarities of SADD committees around NZ, way to go MAGS!