|
|
Home  Community Alumni and Reunions
Damian Wendelborn Alumni 1989
 According to Damian Wendelborn, who attended Kristin from 1987 to 1989, for Forms 5, 6 and 7, his report cards generally read something like, “gets on well with others, does well when he applies himself but is easily distracted in class”. It appears even a teenage boy of this ‘typical’ description can grow up to achieve his career goals, bring up a wonderful family and offer some wise advice to our future Alumni. And ‘growing’ is what it’s all about in Damian’s career...
“I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do when I left school. I knew I was bad at Accounting but had an interest in Art, particularly composition, drawing and sculpture. In order to give myself some time, I took advantage of the GAP scheme and headed over to Wales and France for a year after completing 7th Form, ostensibly to give my potential career some serious thought. While overseas, I taught young English schoolchildren to windsurf and kayak. My real intentions for the GAP year were to see a bit of the world while the ‘career’ answer miraculously revealed itself to me. This didn’t happen, so when I got home I began a Property degree at Auckland University. When I developed an interest in gardens and their sculptural possibilities, I then went to study at Unitec and completed a Diploma in Garden Design.
I’ve been married for 10 years now and work for myself as a Garden Designer, mostly doing residential projects in Auckland but every now and then a little further afield. I have worked (for approximately five years parttime) as a tutor of Garden Design for Unitec’s Diploma in Landscape Design but I find that one of the biggest benefits of working for myself is that I am able to manage it around the needs of a young family and our two children Stella (8) and George (4).
Looking back at my school years, I remember I enjoyed the atmosphere of Kristin – it was a friendly vibe and I never got beaten up, despite my father being the School Chaplain! It is getting to be a while ago now so teachers’ names are fading somewhat but Mr Michael Gifford is a man worth a big mention. He and others – such as Barbara Lawgun, Betty Poore, Dr Maclement, Alastair Nisbet-Smith and others who I’m sorry I can’t remember the names of – did a great job of moulding a motley crew of, perhaps, over-privileged upstarts into well-rounded young adults, as well as making the learning environment fun. My sporting side of school life is remembered fondly also. Our first XV Rugby team, newly promoted to the 1st Division under the guidance of John O’Conner and Alf Smith, although often soundly beaten, enjoyed several well-fought victories.
A recent success in my life now that I am a Garden Designer has been my election to the accreditation board for the Garden Design Society of New Zealand (www.gdsnz.org.nz), an organisation seeking to promote excellence in the field of garden design.
I still have many goals. Professionally, to continue making gardens; it’s a field that continues to excite me and I hope it will deliver many more satisfying years yet. Personally, I want to spend more time with my family and friends; these are the things that are becoming of increasing importance in my life.
If I can offer any advice to those of you in your Senior School years who will soon become Kristin Alumni, respect your elders and heed their advice. Life, since leaving school and home, has been an almost continuous series of realisations that they generally did know what they were on about. And take some time to distil what it is that really makes you happy and pursue this (although it’s potentially at loggerheads with my other piece of advice!)”
Good luck, Damian. The Kristin community looks forward to seeing many of your garden projects appearing around us. If you would like to contact Damian about his work, visit his website.
|
|
Tickets, Orders & Registration
|
Learn about the Kristin brand and our fundraising campaigns
