Matt Tucker had planned to spend a chunk of this year riding a bike through Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
But an unexpected job offer has seen him put his travel plans on hold in favour of returning to Dunedin to manage the Otago University Students Association student support centre.
Mr Tucker spent last year employed as a jack of all trades there - receptionist, administrative assistant, campaigns organiser, class representative co-ordinator, first-year tutorials co-ordinator, foodbank co-ordinator and IT support person for the OUSA network.
When he resigned to explore the world, he did not expect to be back.
That was until he was told the manager was leaving and offered a one-year contract.
It did not take too long to decide to accept, he said.
"Helping people who come to the centre to achieve what it is they want to achieve is rewarding. You can't always fix their problem but you can make it better."
Raised in Raglan, Mr Tucker's journey to Dunedin was a roundabout one.
After leaving school he studied at the University of Auckland but dropped out in favour of a career in IT.
In the mid 2000s, he decided to return to tertiary studies.
"The choice was Auckland or Otago. I decided I didn't want to go back to Auckland, so I packed up my car and headed south."
His introduction to student politics came in 2006 when he decided to try to get Te Roopu Maori, Otago's Maori students association, back on its feet.
It was in disarray because of what Mr Tucker delicately calls "financial irregularities". (Its 2005 president, Francis Pirini, was convicted in 2007 on three charges of using association cheques to subsidise his rent and buy a $1500 car.)
"Te Roopu had ceased to function and no-one was interested in fixing the problem. I think everyone thought it was too much trouble."
Mr Tucker, by that time a second-year student, took over as president and spent most of the year working with the auditors and repaying debt which had accumulated.
Midway through the year he also became the Maori representative on the OUSA executive.
In 2008, he became OUSA's education officer, a part-time paid position which involved representing students on several university academic committees.
He was also one of the OUSA representatives on the university council.
The following year was devoted to study and completing his degree.
By its nature, the student support centre attracted people with issues, he said.
"We have to deal with an incredibly varied array of issues. Often people are distressed and you can do a lot for them by just being approachable and listening.
"People would be very surprised by the things we hear. For some people, the centre is a place to come to cry."
Co-ordinating the foodbank gave him some of his most memorable moments, he said.
"People would give us random things like jars of olives or pickled onions. Once I popped in some pickled onions into a food parcel. The guy came back in a while later and said if we were giving him another food parcel not to give him any more onions because he didn't like them. He must have thought we always put them in."
Mr Tucker also discovered students from the Middle East do not like or want canned spaghetti, a staple in every food parcel.
"They usually give it back. They are very polite about it though."
Along with other student associations around the country, OUSA is on tenterhooks this year as it awaits the likely introduction of Act Party-initiated legislation which would bring in voluntary membership of student associations.
OUSA expects its membership and revenue would drop by as much as 80% and believes it would have to shed most of its staff.
Hence Mr Tucker's one-year contract.
A strong opponent of the pending legislation, he said it was important student support continued to be provided in some way.
While he valued the independence of an OUSA-run service, it could be that the university had to take the service over.
Mr Tucker said he was not worried that he would be out of a job next year as he still had plans to explore the world.
"I've decided to give biking round Asia a miss and backpack around Europe instead."
Student support centre manager
Name: Matt Tucker.
Age: 38.
Occupation: About to become OUSA student support centre manager.
Years in the role: one (as support centre assistant).
Study: University of Auckland, early 1990s; University of Otago 2005-2009, graduated with Bachelor of Science in human nutrition.