2023 Blues and Golds winners

Gold Awards

Arabella Dudfield-Service Excellence

Arabella has been heavily involved in the advocacy of the rainbow community to achieve greater visibility for LGBTQIA+ students on campus. She has been a pivotal member of SPACE (Lincoln’s LGBTQIA+ club) and has planned numerous PRIDE events for the LGBTQIA+ community, including Lincoln’s very own Pride Parade for two years running. She has also worked with the Canterbury Police Diversity Liaisons to create a safer environment for the rainbow community in Christchurch.

Service Excellence

Ben has been a member of the Lincoln Volunteer Fire Brigade for the past three years, with the rank of firefighter.  As a student and resident in Lincoln township he is available for emergency events 24/7, making him a valuable member of the brigade. As a firefighter he has attended and assisted at more than 100 emergency events over that past 12 months.  Many of these emergency events are serious and traumatic for both the firefighters and the other people involved. Ben is also an active volunteer with the Lincoln Young Farmers Club, contributing to many initiatives to improve club members’ experience.

Brooklyn Greer-Atkins - Cultural Excellence

Brooklyn is an exceptional leader who has supported the growth of Te Ao Māori on campus across 2022 and 2023 through a huge number of initiatives that engage with tauira, staff and community and support the development of te reo Māori and help people on their cultural journey.Some of his notable achievement include the development of Te wiki o te reo Māori and Waiata Wednesdays and leading the organisation of Te Huinga Tauira which was hosted on the Lincoln University campus and involved 350 students from across the country taking part in this exceptional day.

Cam Holmes - Service Excellence

Cam played a significant role in the development of Lincoln University's Disability Action Plan. He also sat on a panel for young disabled learners for the Ministry of Education in which he provided his lived experience of being in the education system and the transition from secondary to tertiary. Cam also helped reshape the Respectfully Lincoln Workshops and is an active part of the community volunteering as part of the Children's University 2023. He is also is Methven Football Club Secretary and served as a general advisor for Lincoln SVA.

Emily Osborne - Service Excellence

Emily is President of iconic, a club where students with disabilities, neurodiversity injuries, medical conditions and everything in between can belong. She has arranged an array of events for the club throughout the year. She played a key role in applying for funding to provide swimming at the Rolleston pool and is also a Student Buddy supporting students with their needs to navigate the transition into university. Emily brought sign language week to campus and also helped shaped the University's Disability Action Plan. Her contributions were also recognised at the Selwyn Awards earlier in the year.

Hamish Goatley -Service Excellence

Hamish is a member of the Lincoln Volunteers Fire Brigade, with the rank of firefighter.  As a student and resident in Lincoln Township he is available for emergency events 24/7.  Ben's availability during the day/night makes him a valuable member of the brigade and he has  attended and assisted at more than 100 emergency events over that past 12 months.  Many of these emergency events are serious and traumatic for both the firefighters and the other people involved.

Handy Landys- Service Excellence

A group of Handy Landy’s volunteered their time to travel to the Hawke's Bay and support the local community with their recovery following Cyclone Gabrielle. This included jobs like repairing fences, general property tidy up and community engagement. Feedback was how having young people injected a new sense of energy into the region helped both to achieve work that would otherwise have taken months and give people a more positive mindset. The team engaged with seven individuals and organisations whilst up there and the University has received immensely positive feedback about their actions and attitude towards supporting the community from the Rural Support Trust.

Iris Long – Service Excellence

Throughout 2023, Iris has been a highly valued contributor to LU’s Parent Society. As a volunteer, she has organised weekly playgroups and meet-ups which provide important opportunities for LU parents and children to socialise and interact on campus, with a strong positive impact for all involved. She has also lead the involvement of LU Parent’s Society in larger community events including the Selwyn CultureFest and Community Day, showcasing the diversity and inclusiveness of LU’s student body.

Jonty Gallagher - Cultural Excellence

Jonty is a highly valued leader, role model and volunteer. He is committed to increasing and supporting Māori culture on campus, leading multiple cultural initiatives and events both on-and-off campus to grow engagement not just with Māori, but other cultures as well, including sporting events, kapa haka and gatherings. Jonty also played a key role in the organisation of hosting Te Huinga Tauira here on campus; an event which over 300 Māori tauira from across New Zealand universities participate in. As a result of this event Te Awhioraki won the Selwyn Community Volunteering Gold Award. His contributions have grown the buy-in of Tauira at Lincoln through his outstanding commitment, work ethics and values.

Julie Gillespie - Service Excellence

Julie holds a number of key voluntary roles at St John’s, including Community Education Deliverer for 3 Steps 4 Life, Assistant Youth Manager for the West Melton Youth Division and member of the South Island Regional Trust Board. She is also the Chair of the Selwyn Area Committee – the youngest ever. As part of this role she was a key contributor to the Hato Hone St John Area Committees Act which ensures that the emergency ambulance service is supported through the provision of ambulance stations and staff welfare, supporting local Youth Divisions, and the delivery of community health services. Julie’s volunteer work embodies the spirit of selfless and community service and her continued involvement speaks volumes about her unwavering dedication to St John’s mission.

Kath Vaeatangitau - Service Excellence

Kath is the youngest member of the Lincoln & Hornby Rotary Clubs where she looks and identifies youth organisations across NZ that could require assistance. As part of her role, she is also working with selected schools in Tonga who were badly affected by the cyclone and the recent volcanic eruption in Tongatapu to provide essential school equipment.  Kath is also a key volunteer for the Children’s University and part of the Tongan Youth Trust where she mentors primary and secondary school students with their academic assignments. Her voluntary contributions were recognised at the recent Canterbury Volunteer Recognition Awards where she received an award.

LU Muslim Association-Service Excellence

The Lincoln University Muslim Association (LUMA) connects Muslim students with the local Selwyn Muslim community and have organised a range of social events for students and the community to come together on campus, including key Muslim religious holidays such as Ramardan, Iftar, Eid al-Fitr, attracting over 100 LU students and community members per event.

LUMA’s initiatives support a sense of belonging and opportunities to build connections between students and community members and are great examples of manaakitaka and whanaukataka at Lincoln.

Olivia Cooke - Service Excellence

Olivia’s dedication to mentoring the younger generation through her involvement with Brownies and guiding and her recent commitment to Rovers has positively impacted the lives of numerous young individuals, embodying the spirit of selfless volunteerism. She also dedicates her time to being a secretary of the Lincoln University Tramping Club, inspiring students of all backgrounds to get involved and explore the New Zealand through the organisation and running of events throughout the year on top of her many other extracurricular volunteer positions.

Sahiti Peddisetti - Cultural Exellence

Sahiti is co-president of the LU International and Cultural Society (LUICS). In this role she has organised and supported numerous events throughout the year which provide a welcoming place where students from all cultures and backgrounds can meet, connect and feel included whilst increasing cultural awareness on campus. In addition, Sahiti has is committed to enhancing the Student Experience through a range of voluntary roles including arranging events for Indian students, facilitating weekly English Conversation classes, volunteering for LU led events for current students, mentoring students, and being a Student Buddy.

Travis O'Boyle - Cultural Excellence

Travis is an exceptional leader who has supported the growth of Te Ao Māori on campus across 2022 and 2023 through a huge number of initiatives that engage with tauira, staff and community. These initiatives support the development of Te Reo Māori and help people on their cultural journey. Just some of his notable achievement include the development of Te wiki o te reo Māori and Waiata Wednesdays and leading the organisation of Te Huinga Tauira which was hosted on the Lincoln University campus and involved 350 students from across the country taking part in this exceptional day.

Shayla Rigg - Service Excellence

Shayla is the vice-president of the Lincoln University Student Volunteer Army and the president of the Lincoln University Pottery Club. She is passionate about the environment and volunteers for many environmental causes. Shayla is currently in the process of working towards planning a panel event where she’s connected with ECAN, Forest & Bird and more to facilitate a kōrero around the importance of biodiversity sustainability. Shayla holds many varied leadership roles in the Lincoln Community, and they use these roles to connect with the community in meaningful ways to promote positive messaging around all things from positive environmental actions, to taking time to be mindful and creative.

Blues Awards

Abigale Gerken - Cricket

Abigale is a member of the Canterbury Women’s Cricket team and holds a Canterbury Cricket contract. She was selected to be part of the New Zealand Development Team tour to India and was a member of the winning team in the Super Smash Domestic T20 competition.

Abigail Hotton- Cricket

Abigail is a member of the Canterbury Magicians Team who won the Super Smash Domestic T20 competition. She was also a member of the NZ U19 Team which placed third at the U19 Cricket World Cup.

Benjamin Breitmeyer-Cricket

Ben is a member of the U19 Canterbury Men's and Canterbury A Men's cricket teams. He is also a member of the U19 New Zealand Cricket Team which qualified for ICC World Cup, and was selected for the U19 New Zealand Winter Training Squad in 2023.

Charlie Morrison- Hockey

Charlie represented Canterbury as part of the Canterbury Cavaliers Senior Hockey Team. He was also competed in the 2023 Otautahi Men’s Cup and the 2023 Ford National Hockey Men’s Championship Tier 1. In addition he has represented NZ as part of the Black Sticks.

Charlotte Knight- Netball

Charlotte was a member of Christchurch Open Representative team this year, as well as the LU Premier A Team and Uni Games Team. She was also named in the UTSNZ Netball Tournament team in 2022.

Charlotte McGuire- Barefoot Water Skiing

Charlotte has represented NZ in both the Oceania and Worlds Barefoot Waterskiing Competitions. In 2023, she placed third in the Junior Females Jump in the World Championships, placed second overall in the Oceania Champs in 2022 and placed first overall for the Under 23 category at the Nationals.

Corey Kellow-Rugby

Corey has represented Canterbury in both the Canterbury A side and the Crusaders.

Ella Harris -Karate

Ella represented Canterbury at the NZ Cup 2023 where she won the U21 Female Kumite, becoming the national champion, and came third in the Women's Open Kumite. Ella also represented New Zealand at the World Karate Federation Junior World Championships where she placed 13th in the world for U21 +68kg Kumite and represented NZ at the 2023 Oceania Championships, placing second in the U21 +68kg Kumite and third in the Senior Women's Kumite +68kg.

Emily Hargreaves - Netball

Emily was selected for the Mainland Netball Team to compete in the National Netball Legaue. She is a member of the Lincoln University Netball A Team and the Christchurch Netball Centre Black Team which competed in the NNZ Open Champs. In addition she was selected to be part of the Netball Team representing Lincoln at the University Games.

 George Bell-Rugby 

George was the captain of the LU rugby team who competed at the NZ Universities competition. He is also a member of the Crusaders and the Canterbury A team.

Hannah King - Rugby

Harrison Dakin - Rugby

Harrison was a member of the NZ Universities Rugby Team on its 2023 Japan Tour.

Jackson Rogers - Athletics

In 2023 Jackson ran for NZ in the Oceania Relays where they placed second  in the 4x100m and third in the 4x400m. Jackson also won Gold at the NZ Champs for Otago in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

Jamie Hannah - Rugby

Jamie represented NZ as part of the U20s side and has represented Canterbury in various rugby competitions including the Canterbury A and Crusaders teams.

Jarred Burnett-Basketball

Jarred is a member of the 3x3 men's basketball team which will be travelling to Taiwan later this year to compete in the International University Tournament. In addition, he is a member of the Canterbury Rams NZ NBL Team and the U23 Canterbury Team which competes in the National Competition.

Jasmine Donald-Football

Jasmine has played for the Senior Women's Canterbury United Pride side in the National Football League for the past five years as well as being a member of the NZ Snr Māori team since 2019. In 2023, she captained the side in Australia. In addition, she was part of the Women's South Island Premier League for the Winter Season for the Universities Club side.

Joe Brial - Rugby 

Johnny Lee - Rugby

Johnny is a member of the Crusaders U20 Team, the Canterbury U19 Team and has represented NZ in NZ Universities Competition. Johnny received The Dennis Young U19 Player of the Year for 2022 at the Canterbury Rugby Awards.

Jordie Plunkett - Hockey

Jordie represented Canterbury as part of the Canterbury NHC Women’s Hockey A Team and was selected for Canterbury Women's A Team to play in National Hockey Championship in Whangārei. She helped her club team, High School Old Boys to place third in the Canterbury Premier Women's League, where she was also the third top goal scorer, with 10 goals for the season.

Kate Herman - Basketball

Kate was a member of the Canterbury Basketball Team which won the U19 Nationals tournament and was also a member of the Junior Tall Ferns team who represented New Zealand in the Asia Cup held in India. She is also a member of the Lincoln University 3x3 Females Basketball Team.

Katie Hollands - Lacrosse

In 2023 Katie has participated in lacrosse at a club level, University level, and Regional and National level. She is a member of the UC Premier Lacrosse Team which placed second at the University Nationals competition. Katie was an U18 NZ representative as well as an U20 NZ squad member.

Lauryn Hippolite - Basketball

Lauryn is a dual-code New Zealand Representative in 3x3 and 5x5 basketball in 2023. She is also the captain of the Mainland Pouakai (women’s professional NBL team) and an All-Star 5 in the Canterbury Women’s Premiere League 2023 (Lincoln University 5x5 club team). In addition Lauryn is a member of the Lincoln University 3x3 Females Basketball Team.

Maddy Timms-Basketball

Maddy is a Mainland Pouakai Development Player and has participated in the Taiwan BLIA Cup Tournament. She is also a member of the Lincoln University 5x5 Basketball Team.

Mason Allison - Rugby 

Mason represented Canterbury in the U19 team and was a member of the Rams 2023 team. He was also a member of the NZ Universities men’s side which toured Japan.

Matt Boyle - Cricket

Matt is a member of the U19 NZ Cricket Team and was selected for the NZ Men’s Development Team. He represented Canterbury in the U19’s Canterbury Cricket Team and holds a domestic contract with Canterbury Cricket

Matthew Oxenham -Wrestling & Brazillian Jiu Jitsu 

Matt has represented NZ as part of the NZ team for Wrestling & Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and was awarded the top competitor of the tournament at the National Champion Wrestling and is the South Island Wrestling Champion. Matt was also the National Champion for Jiu Jitsu (blue belt division) and the Southern Regionals Champ for Jiu Jitsu. He is also a NZ Wrestling Athlete Liaison.

Molly Loe - Cricket

Molly is a member of the Otago Sparks Cricket Team as well as the NZ U19 Team in 2022 & 23. She was an NZ Invitational A in 2021 and 22, and been an Otago Cricket age group representative in U18, U19 & U21 sides. Molly was also the Otago Sparks Rising Star of the Year for 2020-21 and 2021-2022.

Rosalia Samia -Basketball

Rosalia was a member of the Lincoln 3x3 Tournament Team in 2023 where they placed 2nd at Oceania Championships, qualifying for 3x3 Basketball World Tertiary Champs. She is also a member of the Mainland Pouakai Women’s Basketball Team, Lincoln University 5x5 Team and has represented NZ in the U23 3x3 Basketball Team.

Simon Lafaele-Basketball

Simon is a member of the Manawatu Jets and the 3x3 LU Basketball Team which will be representing Lincoln University in International University Tournament later this year.

Taiana Day - Netball and Basketball 

Taiana was selected as a member of the Mainland Netball Team to compete in the National Netball League as well as the NZ U21 squad and is a Tactix Training partner. She is a member of the NZ U21 squad for the 2025 World Cup in Spain and is in the Tall Ferns 3x3 basketball team.

Tim Seeto -Hockey

Tim is a member of the Canterbury Cavaliers men's senior hockey side.

Natalie Foss - Clay Target Shooting

Natalie has achieved outstanding results and placed in the first three in a range of competitions both locally end regionally. Amongst her many other accolades in 2023, she was selected for the Junior Mixed Team competing at the World Championships and was nominated for the Taranaki Junior Sports Women of the Year.

Moses McGoon - Rugby

Moses is a member of the Crusaders U20 team, Cantabrians Team and was a member of the Tasman U19 team.

Zak Foulkes - Cricket

Zak has represented Canterbury in the U19 Cricket Team as well as the Canterbury Men’s A Team. He currently plays for the Canterbury Kings in the Domestic Cricket Competition.