My name is Toni Baker and I am the Student Representative on the Board of Trustees and am in my second term on the board. I am currently in year 13 at Horowhenua College. I am looking to do a conjoint degree in law and commerce at university next year and hopefully from there I will end up working in Corporate Law or in politics for the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Justice.
As the student representative I have been provided with the opportunities to learn about governance, to further my abilities as a leader through attending a 5 day course at Great Barrier Island, and to develop my appreciation of all the hard work the teachers and staff put in, in order to make sure each and every individual at Horowhenua College achieves to their highest potential. This has honestly been the most enriching and valuable experience as the role allows me to see things from different points of view. I have found that I am very easily able to translate the skills I have learnt from being on the board into an array of other areas of my life, in fact the experience I have had on the Board of Trustees has influenced the career path I am wishing to take!
As the student representative my role on the board is all about bringing a student voice and opinion to the discussions going on around the table, whether that it just being there to be an advisor on matters or whether it’s bringing my own matters to the table for further discussion. Doing this effectively requires working very closely with the structures we have in place to make sure that we as a student body are heard. Having a student opinion on matters is very important and held in high regard at Horowhenua College, meaning that in decision making students are listened to and their perspectives acknowledged.