THE QUEEN'S SERVICE MEDAL
After a career of transforming young people into adults, Ashley Day has been awarded a Queen's Service Medal.
Mr Day has been a master of colleges at the University of Otago for more than 10 years and described it as a "fabulous" and "very rewarding" job.
It was also unique because of the way he lived so closely with a group of people and cared for all aspects of their wellbeing, he said.
He was appointed master of Aquinas College in 1995, before moving to University College in 1997 where he remained until last year when he went to Carrington College.
Before that, he had been a French and German teacher for 26 years.
After graduating with a bachelor of arts with first class honours in French and German from the University of Otago, he moved to Auckland in 1971 and studied at teachers college.
A year later, In 1972, he was appointed head of languages at Hillcrest High School in Hamilton. before filling the same role at Queens High School in Dunedin from 1979 to 1985.
In 1986, he founded the National Association of French Teachers and represented New Zealand at the World Congress of Teachers in French in 1987.
He was honoured by France in 1989 when he became a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms).
Of his most recent award, he said it was humbling and a "lovely surprise".
He wished to accept it on behalf of "colleagues all over the place".