Wellington celebrates international students

The winners, who came from both secondary and tertiary level, included an award-winning documentary filmmaker, a star kapa haka performer, a co-founder of the New Zealand International Students Association and students excelling in rugby, basketball and rowing.

They were selected from the following categories: academic excellence, alumni, arts and culture, community engagement, leadership and sport. Each winner received a trophy, certificate and tickets to a Wellington experience.

WREDA’s Talent, Skills and Education Manager Brook Pannell said the students’ achievements reflected extremely well on the individuals but were also a great reflection of the wider Wellington region.

"It not only speaks volumes about the students’ abilities and work ethics but also about the quality of education and mentorship they are receiving in Wellington,” he said.

At the ceremony, guests were treated to a musical performance by local international student Sojeong Kim, a violin soloist from Wellington East Girls College, as well as a rousing performance from South Wellington Intermediate School’s Kapa Haka group. Well-known playwright and actor Jacob Rajan MNZM was guest speaker.

Kapa Haka group from South Wellington Intermediate School.

Award Winners:

Academic excellence

• Vineet Kaur, Whitireia (India)
• Yucen (Ethan) Wu, Wellington High School (China)

Alumni category

• Siang Lim, Victoria University of Wellington (Malaysia)
• Yorke Yu, WelTec (China)

Arts and culture

• Yuki Sugito, Wainuiomata High School (Japan)
• Maja Zonjic, Victoria University of Wellington (Croatia, Canada)

Community engagement

• Anis Emalin Madihah Mohd Nadzri, Victoria University (Malaysia)
• Khang Phan, Massey University (Vietnam)

Leadership

• Dahee Sohn, Victoria University of Wellington (Korea)
• Ravethi (Rae) Jeyakumar, Victoria University of Wellington (Singapore)

Sports

• Sam Walsh, Scots College (USA)
• Amber Jiang, Queen Margaret College (China) 

Click here for full details of the winners.

The awards were developed as part of WREDA’s Wellington International Student Growth Programme (WISGP), which has a goal of doubling the number of international students arriving in Wellington by 2025.