Charlie Johnston left Rolleston College in 2022 and is currently studying at the New Zealand Broadcasting School at Ara Institute in Christchurch, with plans to move to the capital soon.

"Rolleston College gave me the opportunity to be myself," he reflects.

"The way I learnt, and approached assignments, was very different to most students and I'm grateful that many of my teachers were supportive of my interests and tried to engage me in a way that connected with me personally."

"Every chance I got, I used my creativity to complete tasks. I'm glad I was in an environment that allowed me to do that."

Charlie is able to look back on his years at Rolleston College with renewed perspective.

"When we're young, we're still trying to figure ourselves out – what kind of person we want to be, and our rights and wrongs," he says.

"While I was figuring this out, I may have said and done a few things which didn't exactly go down well with some people, and at times I was a little stubborn and self-righteous."

"I soon found this is not what I wanted to do, or who I wanted to be. As I've matured, I realise how wrong I had been. It's an important part of growing up, and while I regret these things, I'm glad they happened. They've shaped me into who I am today."

Charlie encourages our current learners to be themselves and to do what they love.

"If you have a passion, follow it. If you have a question, ask it. If you're given a mundane task, find the good or the beauty in it, and focus on that," he says.

"There were plenty of assignments I didn't want to do, so I found parts of the work I liked, or could relate to, and built my effort around that."

Charlie points to an example where he was assigned a 1,000-word essay. Not a fan of formal writing, he convinced his teacher to let him submit a ten-minute video instead.

"I was given a 'boring' task and I turned it into a fun one."

Charlie calls his time at the NZBS "absolutely phenomenal".

"I'm still young and I have many things to learn, but everything I've done and everything I'm going to do, I'll always remember where it started."

We wish Charlie the very best with his plans to move to Wellington for an internship in the film industry!