From college dux to top student
Last year's CHB College Dux, Charles Batistis, has won the best secondary student award in the Multi Cultural Awards Hawke's Bay.
Charles arrived in New Zealand from the Philippines in 2015 and has been a student at CHB College since 2017. Last year he was runner-up in this category but his excellent grades in Level 3 NCEA earned him the top spot this year across all Hawke's Bay secondary schools.
As part of Charles' nomination, CHB College principal Lance Christiansen wrote “he immediately showed himself to be a very capable student with an excellent work ethic and a determination to succeed at the highest level”.
Despite little comprehension of
English when he arrived, Charles quickly became one of the highest performing students at the college. He was awarded Dux Litterarum in 2021 and achieved overall NCEA Excellence Endorsements at level 1, 2 and 3 along with excellence subject endorsements in computer science, physics and chemistry at level 3.
Christiansen wrote: “Charles is without a doubt the highest performing Asian student that has been through CHB College and one of the highest performing students I have seen in my 26 years of teaching.
“He has extremely strong motivation to achieve, he has excellent time management and ensures deadlines are met and tasks completed to the highest standard. I cannot recommend Charles highly enough for this award.”
Charles wants to pursue a career in engineering and to work in the manufacturing and technology industries. He hopes that when he achieves his dream he will be able to give something back to the community that has given him so many opportunities.