Golden Bay High School’s dux Yerren van Sint Annaland
In the news November 8, 2016
This year’s Golden Bay High School’s dux wants to pursue a career in computer programming.
Yerren van Sint Annaland, 17, was recognised as the top scholar at the school’s senior prizegiving on Thursday.
Along with the dux award, van Sint Annaland also won the University of Otago’s Academic Excellence Entrance Scholarship of $45,000.
He was heading to Dunedin next year to start a computer science degree.
The award is given to just a few high school graduates who display not only outstanding academic results but also community service.
Van Sint Annaland said he was chosen for his involvement in a number of different areas including work for the conservation group Project Janszoon. He was on the student advisory board and helped his school adopt a section of the park.
He was also involved with sporting groups representing his school in tennis and football, as well has leading the production and design of his school’s magazine.
He also tutored younger students in maths, English and tennis, as well as helping to make the school magazine and looking after the school’s 3D printer.
Van Sint Annaland said he has kept busy this year with maths, digital technology and physics.
“I managed to complete my level three English last year, and I also did level 3 statistics last year so this year I got to really focus on the stuff that I actually enjoy,” he said.
As part of his digital technology course, van Sint Annaland redesigned Golden Bay’s weather mapping page.
“The old one was was really outdated,” he said. “I had to re-design it more or less from scratch, it was all code and scripting.”
He said home-schooled by his father until Year 9.
“It taught me that you just have to enjoy what you’re doing to learn,” he said.
“When I was home schooled I didn’t do anything except what I wanted to do, so I learned so much about computer programming, which I got into really early on.”
He said he was never taught to read, but just picked it up when he was ready.
“It was the same for maths. It just happened when I was ready.”
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and
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