Year 12 Leaders Light Up Christchurch!
Last week, our Year 12 National Leaders hit Ōtautahi and instantly sparked some serious energy! From day one, this group got on like a house on fire, throwing themselves into hands-on sessions that challenged their teamwork, leadership, and creativity. Over three action-packed days, they brainstormed brilliant ideas, tackled tricky challenges, and even found time to eat a lot of kai while having a blast together.
By the end of the event, it was impossible to tell this was the first time they’d all met – the connections they formed were instant and strong. The SADD team were seriously impressed by their insight, energy, and commitment. The leaders not only sharpened their skills and laid down some clear values to guide their journey over the next 18 months, but they also had heaps of fun along the way – from scavenger hunts to minigolf and plenty of laughs in between. Scroll down for some photo highlights and hear from the leaders themselves about what made this event so epic!
“NLP is so fire!!! It was so fun meeting my NLP peers in real life, getting to know everyone! There were so many highlights for me but my personal fav was getting chased by electric scooters #firstinmybloodlinetoexperiencethat” - Charlotte
“The many lessons, friends, and memories I shared made me realise why and how I serve for my community; that beneath all of our differences, under a shared vision, they make us stronger. All the people, both staff and friends (who I all genuinely love), are amongst the best people to work and make memories with. The funniest moment was probably winning the Christchurch scavenger hunt (by ten minutes), the pressure and competitiveness was truly on and showed off how, even in a team, we all still led. Learning came in different forms, the most important lesson being that our differences TRULY do make our team the way it is, I couldn't have wished for a better team and learning how to vibe, work, and love them is amongst the best and most cherished lessons I have learnt and will continue to hold dear to me for a long time. We truly are one big happy SADD family.” - Sean
“On day 1, I met 10 new people and they were instantly friends, by day 3 we were family (a performative matcha family). the most fun I’ve had since primary school to be honest.” - Corban
“VIBESSSS!!! Everyone and everything was so memorable, lifelong friendships and memories made. So many fun activities and the fun was heightened by the amazing people in the group. The activities would not be the same without the people we did it with. We had random morning runs, karaoke seshs, matcha trips, huge yap sessions, many jokes, good kai and living off 2 hours of sleep. What an experience I will cherish and look back on!! Thank you SADD and 25/26 national leaders!!!” - Abbygail
“I had such a great time at the Christchurch NLP hui; despite losing both the scavenger hunt, and mini putt. I loved finally meeting everybody outside of a instagram group chat (even the performative males.) Look out for some good really cool social media content and projects coming soon featuring yours truly and the rest of our little SADD TEAM (we’re very cohesive and filled with teamwork.) Already looking forward to conference and the 2026 NLP hui !!” - Lauren
“What I learned: National Leaders basically run on matcha. The hangout room quickly turned into the sleepover room, strangers one moment, whānau the next. The 11 of us played cards, laughed until we almost cried, argued a little, and bonded a lot. It could’ve been 12 but Indy couldn’t make it because she was off on Outward Bound, but she was always in our hearts (not gone, just probably lost somewhere in the bush). We watched Tinā, travelled around Christchurch, danced, sang, downed plenty of matcha and riverside cuisine, and probably picked up a few noise complaints along the way.So worth it.” - Jaeger
“ Turned wannabe actors, ran like headless chickens around Christchurch City , hole-in-ones at mini golf, way too much matcha and gelato. NLP hui was epic.” - Bella
“NLP EVENT IS SO MUCH FUN!!!!! I loved seeing everyone in real life instead of looking at a screen, and the experience was even better because of all the energy everyone brought!! One of the activities we did was a scavenger hunt around Christchurch, so me and my team decided to run to each location so we could win…. We did not win. Turns out the person we put in-charge of leading the way wasn’t the best geographer but we got there in the end!! There were many many laughs when recording videos for social media content, so there are a lot of bloopers waiting to be dropped!!” - Jayda
“I had the best time with the best people. Learned a lot, and laughed a lot more! I can’t believe I’ve only known these amazing people for a short period of time, they have truly made this experience so memorable. We ran around Christchurch wreaking havoc at every corner, we laughed till the morning, and we made new memories. I love NLP and everyone in it! 💗” - Esha
“It’s hard to believe the SADD National Leadership Hui is already over! Christchurch was such a cool change of scene. I met so many awesome people from the NLP student TEAM and the SADD TEAM, made content for socials, and took about a million TEAM photos. Becca, Sean, and I were the winning TEAM for the scavenger hunt, which was definitely a highlight.
Pitching our project ideas and getting feedback from everyone from the TEAM, plus extra guidance from our mentors, was such a valuable experience. It feels great knowing our ideas will help SADD reach more rangatahi and strengthen youth engagement. I’m excited to see the impact we can make with the support of the SADD TEAM!” - Kenisha
“It's hard to leave the NLP hui after making such close friends in a short time, but it had to end eventually! Our hui was such a great experience for the student leaders to bond and learn together. I loved learning about how each of us worked as leaders, and what we wanted to achieve as a group. A true highlight for me was the mini-golf on the second night, despite my clear and embarrassing loss. A huge thank you to the lovely SADD team who made this incredible experience perfect, and I know us student leaders are already counting down until we see each other next” - Rebecca
Watch this space for the epic mahi still to come from this group, they’re just getting started! 🔥🔥🔥