Rotarians and many invited guests were treated to a most inspirational address given by Marcus Akuhata-Brown at our Thursday dinner on April the 19th . The Rotary Club of Wonthaggi organized for Marcus to come to our area and given inspirational messages to students in our local secondary schools. Marcus, a high school teacher from New Zealand, had the personal experience of a teacher motivating him and lifting his vision for what life might have in store for him. He came from a Maori background where most of his friends had few aspirations and what aspirations they had were quickly squashed.
Given the vision that the only thing holding him back was the low expectations society had place on him, he persevered at school and went on to represent NZ at many international events allowing him to address the UN General Assembly in New York, meet the queen, do breakfast with Barak Obama, and have experiences far beyond what he could ever have imagined as a marginalised Maori kid growing up in a small town in NZ.
Many local students were transfixed by his personal story and encouraged to dream bigger. Its fair to say that his visit was money very well spent and a great contribution both to those present at this Rotary event and in our local schools.