Fast, Clever and Ambitious

Logan Carroll is the head boy of Tamatea High School and Mariah Wainohu is the head girl. Both are great examples of young Hawke’s Bay students who are going places.

Logan is the fastest secondary school student in the Hawke’s Bay over 100 metres. He plays fullback and centre for the school first XV and has scored a number of tries using his blistering pace. There’s more to this young man than just sports though. He has passed level 1 and level 2 NCEA with endorsements and this year his academic programme includes Physics, Biology, Chemistry, English and Statistics. Next year he plans to go to Canterbury University to study Engineering.

At a recent radio interview, Logan said the smaller class sizes at Tamatea High School and the strong relationships with teachers that really care about their students have made all the difference to his success. “Students don’t get lost at Tamatea – there’s no where to hide.”

Mariah is also a highly talently teenager. She has represented her school in kapa haka and is currenty training hard to represent the Hawke’s Bay region in the national competition being held at here in July. Mariah wants to attend Waikato University to study Te Reo Māori. As well as studying Te Reo, Māori Performing Arts and Hospitality, she is also taking Biology and Music. Her teachers have encouraged her to take Biology at university because Mariah wants to become a secondary teacher. A science teacher who is fluent in te reo Māori will be in hot demand!

Mariah, attributes much of her success to the encouragement and support given to her by the staff and students at Tamatea High School. “We’re a real whānau at school and we want to do our best to show our pride in being part of Tamatea High.”

Principal of Tamatea High, Robin Fabish, says “Role models like Logan and Mariah are vital in school and we are proud of them. We work very hard with our students and their families to achieve their goals. Logan and Mariah are proof of what is possible for all of us.”