Macleans College students selected for Shadow a Leader programme

An initiative of AUT’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, the Shadow a Leader programme allows secondary students the opportunity to follow an industry leader for a day.

Diya Kaushal (Kupe House) was assigned to Craig Hobbs, the director of Regulatory Services at Auckland Council. She started her day by meeting with her leader's personal assistant, who gave her an overview of the day and her expectations. Numerous meetings took up the rest of the day as Diya followed Craig around according to his schedule. She made a lot of new acquaintances from various corporate departments and gained insight into how the business world truly functions.

Diya also had the opportunity to speak with recent graduates in law and business at Auckland Council about her future ambitions. This educational opportunity allowed Diya the chance to learn something new and connect with an inspiring and encouraging leader, all whilst establishing connections in the corporate world.

Mandy Jing (Batten House) was given the opportunity to join Phoebe Gonzalez, director of Audit and Evan Bateup, CPO of KPMG. KPMG is one of the world's largest professional services firms, entitled as one of the 'Big Four' accounting firms, providing audit, tax, and advisory services to businesses and organisations globally. The highlight of Mandy's day was speaking to leaders from different service lines of the firm which gave her valuable insights into the work at the leading professional firm.

Josh Radford (Hillary House) also took part in the program. He was placed at New Zealand Story Group, a branch of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE). It was an insightful experience in how the public sector operates.