Tēnā koe, ko Nate tōku ingoa, ko Rotorua ahau. Hi, my name is Nate, I hail from Rotorua and am in the second year of the Sport New Zealand Graduate Programme in 2025.

Growing up, I immersed myself in almost every sport possible. As I grew older, I knew that following my passion for sport and recreation was something I wanted to pursue. I moved down to Dunedin where I studied Sport Development & Management and Sociology before a Masters in Sport Development & Management. During my studies, I gained experience working with different regional sports organisations and supporting young people. Something I became passionate about through these experiences was how we can use physical activity to support the holistic wellbeing of participants.

I applied for the Sport NZ Graduate Programme as the opportunity to create connections across the sector and be exposed to a variety of work and development opportunities excited me. Being a Graduate means you get to work across the whole organisation, getting involved in not only play, active recreation, and sport mahi, but also things like investment, policy, strategy, and business capability to support organisations to function effectively; all of which help to foster wellbeing outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi. During my first year, I got involved in things such at Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa, the sport recognition process, running sector conferences, and Mana Taiohi (youth development) training for the sector.

My first placement is with the newly established Sport Integrity Commission Te Kahu Raunui, where I am working on supporting sector capability in understanding integrity matters such as participant safeguarding, competition manipulation, anti-doping. My second placement is with Special Olympics New Zealand, leading the redevelopment of their athlete leadership programme and supporting their National Summer Games. I have learnt so much already during the Graduate Programme and would highly recommend applying if working within this sector is something you are interested in.