Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours)

Current employment: DairyNZ Consulting Officer, Southland

School: Pukekohe High School 2002-2006

Training institute: Massey University 2007-2010

DairyNZ scholarship recipient: 2007-2010

Being proactive about finding out what career he wanted to pursue was what motivated Nathan to explore different jobs during his holiday breaks whilst at Pukekohe High School and Massey University. “It was easier to look at what I didn’t want to do to help narrow down the options. I worked as a builder’s ‘gofer,’ ran a kids’ sports programme, and job shadowed a DairyNZ Consulting Officer, a bank manager and fertilizer representative,” says Nathan.

“There is so much choice and I got sick of the dreaded: ‘So what are you going to do when you leave school question?’ I looked at what I enjoyed and what I was good at. I knew I didn’t want to wear a suit and tie to work every day, be stuck in an office or work on my own. I knew I enjoyed farming, sport, and people. Agriculture was my choice as it is an evolving industry with opportunities to create a long-lasting career.”

Now a seasoned Senior DairyNZ Consulting Officer (CO) in the Southland region, Nathan loves his job and the career he chose after initially struggling to decide what he wanted to do. Nathan’s work as a CO fully engages him and he is relishing the challenges of being involved in specialised projects as well as the more traditional work of facilitating discussion groups with farmers. “I enjoy the variety and diversity of the work and the opportunities to expand my skill set. Specialisation is possible in this role.”

In the longer term, Nathan sees his future as a farm consultant specialising in strategic planning with cows and grass consultancy. He continues to go from strength to strength and recently completed the prestigious Kellogg Rural Leadership Course.