Waitakere College News

Newsletter Issue 32

What Values Drive Your Direction

Our Senior Prizegiving guest speaker, Alvin Naiker, is a former pupil who attended from 2003 to 2007. He is now a Senior Manager in Forensic Finance and Crime at Ernst & Young, where he leads the Financial Crime Risk and Compliance practice for Oceania, covering Australia, Singapore, Europe and the United States. Alvin's journey over the past 17 years is impressive, but he also shared his experiences of failure and challenges. He emphasized the importance of perseverance, or manawanui, in achieving success.
He outlined three key points, which I will paraphrase:

1. Values Guide Your Direction: Success is not determined by your starting point or endpoint, but by the direction you take as you work toward success and learn from failures. Keep your values as touchstones to enhance your decision-making after challenges arise.

2. Set Goals and Keep Resetting: Understand what you want to achieve. Define your purpose and break your goals into short-term objectives that contribute to your long-term aspirations. Challenges will occur, but your values will guide your responses.

3. Know Who You Are: The people you surround yourself with influence who you become. If you are among five positive and motivated friends, you will be the sixth. Conversely, if your circle consists of negative influences, you will also be affected. Reflect on your friendships and, if necessary, rely on your values and goal-setting to help you become a better version of yourself.

Alvin's message resonates with all of us; it reminds us to focus on maintaining a positive direction in our lives and strive to be better than before.

Ngā mihi

Mark P. Shanahan