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Ones To Watch

14 July 2023

From Eden Skipper and Mihiterina Sorensen to Sandra Iskander and Jamie Schiel, learn about the Ones to Watch UC is showcasing to celebrate our 150th anniversary!

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Eden Skipper
Eden Skipper

BSc 2019

Eden Skipper was born and raised in Horomaka, Banks Peninsula. As a student he travelled abroad for various leadership and cultural experiences including to Peking University in Beijing and to Washington DC in the United States of America. Passionate about environmental protection, climate justice and tino rangatiratanga, Eden works for the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) as a Special Advisor in Māori Capability and is a board member of New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. Despite not being a classroom learner, he states that the University of Canterbury provided him with a unique education.

Mihiterina Sorensen
Mihiterina Sorensen

LLB 2018

A lawyer and top-rated podcast host, Mihi Sorensen is passionate about motivating and inspiring women to reach their full potential. While working full-time as a Senior Project Manager to the Ministerial Advisory Board, who provides independent assurance to the Minister for Children, she hosts her podcast EMPOWER with Mihi and runs her coaching business. Determined to break down barriers, give volume to indigenous voices in corporate spaces and defy the odds, she harnesses her experience as an ambitious millennial/gen-z wahine Māori to connect with others and make an impact. Mihi believes: “We don’t wait for the future, we create it.”

Katie Harris
Katie Harris

BA 2018, PGDipJ 2019

After having the opportunity to complete a paper in the Czech Republic, Katie Harris realised that journalism was the career for her. Since then, Katie has established herself as a reporter on everything from culture and politics to mental health and youth related interests. Seeing young people interested in current events but not served well in the delivery of news, Katie founded her podcast In the Loop – breaking down the biggest headlines each week for young New Zealanders. Diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, Katie is an advocate for those who are neurodivergent and live with the disorder.

Kate Woolmore
Kate Woolmore

BCom 2022

Moving all the way down from Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland to study at UC, Kate Woolmore’s passion for business and the student experience saw her become a Tūhono International Student Mentor, an executive member of The Investment Society, and in 2021, President of UC Women in Business. A club dedicated to building a community of confident, capable and connected women, Kate spearheaded all operations, leading an executive team of eleven. Previously a Broker Operations Administrator for the Bank of New Zealand, Kate is now a Corporate Finance Analyst at Deloitte, passionately sharing her financial knowledge with her community.

Mekdim Tesfaye
Mekdim Tesfaye

BCom 2022

Many people dream of going to outer space, and now, Mekdim Tesfaye’s innovative start-up Oasis Orbital Systems is helping people get there. After finishing his scholarship with the UC Centre of Entrepreneurship’s Summer Start-up Programme, Mekdim found a way to allow virtual reality (VR) headset users a chance to experience the edge of space – without the financial constraints and restrictions a physical trip would cost. Pioneering a new avenue of space exploration through an orbital live-streaming platform, Mekdim has had interest in his company from both tourism and the VR industries.

Jock Nowell-Usticke (BAYNK)
Jock Nowell-Usticke (BAYNK)

BE (Hons) 2015

Off the back of a three-month tour in 2022, Jock Nowell-Usticke, more commonly recognised as BAYNK to his fans, has always had music at the forefront of his mind. After really focusing on music in his final year at UC, the electronic music artist made a swift transition from engineering into making music full-time. When asked what he enjoyed most about his work, BAYNK notes that, “seeing everything come together in its final artistic form is the most satisfying part of the process - marrying music and visual art to create something moving.” Finishing 2022 on a high, BAYNK’s debut album ADOLESCENCE was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

Sandra Iskander
Sandra Iskander

BCom 2015, LLB 2015

Fluent in Arabic, Sandra volunteered in several initiatives at UC and the wider community; UCSA Help, Shakti Christchurch, UNWomen Christchurch, the Community Justice Panel, Community Law Canterbury, and contributed her research towards the Harvard Kennedy School's international research initiative on Violence against Women, also published in the International Journal for Gender Equality. Sandra was also selected for the Police Prosecution internship before finishing her double degree in 2015. She was then quickly admitted to the High Court of New Zealand as a Barrister and Solicitor in early 2016 and is currently working for Duncan Cotterill as a Senior Solicitor in their Corporate and Commercial team.

Ford Wagner
Ford Wagner

BSc 2019, BSc (Hons) 2020, MSc 2021

During an undergraduate project, Ford Wagner became fascinated with the potential of solar cells and their role in combating climate change. Knowing that he wanted to forge his research career in the area of renewable energy, Ford went on to complete his masters before being awarded the Lord Rutherford Memorial Research Fellowship in 2020, which gave him the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford in the UK. Working on the characterisation of new materials for use in solar cells using THz spectroscopy measurements, Ford is working towards the goals of optimising the performance of solar cells and emerging technologies, like nanowires.

Tori McNoe
Tori McNoe

BCJ 2020

Many may recognise Tori McNoe as the first wāhine Māori President of the UCSA – a role she was elected to after serving on the exec the year prior. Passionate about social impact, advocacy and the platforming young people, she is now working to indigenise the research and commercialisation spaces of Aotearoa with her role at UniServices. Named on the founding ‘Top Diverse Directors List’ established by the Ministry of Ethnic Communities and Superdiversity Institute and was a finalist in Women of Influence Awards – Young Leader in 2020. Tori also provides her expertise to several boards including the Auckland Climate Festival and Science Alive!

Toby Hendy
Toby Hendy

BSc 2015

Making the most of her time at UC, Toby Hendy took part in every opportunity she could – as Vice-President of the Physics and Astronomy Society, a member of the Student Volunteer Army, Entré and more. Being awarded the Elaine P Snowden opened the door to amazing experiences at the UC Mount John Observatory, and overseas astronomy sites, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, leading her towards a slightly untraditional career path. Toby has combined her passions for science and communication, creating her YouTube channel ‘Tibees’ which focuses on educational content relating to physics, mathematics, and astronomy. Toby shares her love for science with over 900K subscribers and has had over 100 million views across her channel’s content.

Luke Campbell
Luke Campbell

BSc 2022

Helping professional service firms drive revenue, manage compliance, and save time, Luke Campbell is leading the way with VXT. Founding the company alongside fellow UC student Lucy Turner, VXT initially came to life in the 2018/19 Summer Start-Up Programme run by the University Centre for Entrepreneurship (UCE). Today VXT is backed by the largest venture capital fund in New Zealand, and its customers use the software to make more than 60,000 calls per week across the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Reflecting on his time with UCE, Luke reveals that, “UCE plays a critical role in allowing students the confidence and security to take risks. Without it, VXT likely would not exist.”

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Jamie Schiel
Jamie Schiel

BE (Hons) 2014

From growing up on a farm in Christchurch and being part of the first cohort of mechatronics students at UC, to landing at MIT and then founding Stable Auto, Jamie Schiel has been busy to say the least. His business mission is to make driving an electric vehicle possible in every corner of the globe, tackling the barrier of charging infrastructure. In 2022, Jamie was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 List, joining the brightest and boldest entrepreneurs in North America. He considers his time at UC and with his lecturers critical to his successes thus far.

Darian Woods
Darian Woods

BA 2011, BCom (Hons) 2011

Darian Woods co-hosts The Indicator from Planet Money podcast on NPR. He blends economics, journalism, and an ear for audio to tell stories that explain the global economy. Through his UC economics classes, study of music composition and creative writing, Darian unlocked new perspectives on the world. He now enjoys following his curiosity around new questions in the economy. He has reported on the time the world got together and solved a climate crisis, artificial intelligence copyright, and how Hollywood changed the wine industry. Before NPR, Darian worked as an advisor to the Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury.

Photo credit: Diba Mohtasham

Alex Reese
Alex Reese

BCom 2014

Whilst touring India as part of New Zealand Secondary Schools’ cricket tournament in 2008, Alex witnessed the huge need of those who struggled with schooling but loved sport. This led him to found the Cricket Live Foundation, which uses cricket to develop the life skills and education of underprivileged children in Sri Lanka and India. Alex opened the first Cricket Live centre for 48 boys at Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, in 2014. The foundation now operates eight centres in Sri Lanka and India, working with over 2,000 boys and girls and their families. Alex now lives in London, where he leads the commercial strategy team for a global sports and entertainment company.

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