Lisa Lokman
When she’s not training for high jump she is most likely to be found practising for Japanese speech competitions or doing DIY at home with her family.
She said she surprised herself when she won the high jump competition at her school’s athletics day in year 9, but surprised everyone when she won at the Otago regional competition.
‘‘My dad said, ‘we better find you a coach then’, because then I was going to the nationals.’’
She began training five times a week, and has gone on to win bronze medals at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in 2022 and 2023, and a bronze at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships this year.
Lisa also won the Otaru Sister City Japanese Speech Contest three times.
She considered herself lucky because her mother was Japanese and her father was Dutch and she had lived in both countries.
‘‘Being able to really understand the difference in culture between here, the Netherlands and Japan, has given me a global perspective.’’
Lisa said she had a talkative personality and liked to socialise and build connections to people.
She was hopeful she would be able to use her language skills to help build connections between people in Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
Achievements
NCEA level 1 and 2 excellence endorsements, level 3 excellence endorsement for Japanese (2023); Otaru Sister City Japanese speech contest 1st (2021, 2022, 2024), 2nd (2023); 2024 OSS athletics champs, 1st senior girls high jump & senior girls triple jump, 2nd senior girls long jump; SISS athletics championships, 1st senior girls triple jump, 1st senior girls high jump; NZ Track and Field Champs Otago rep; 3rd U20 high jump; cross-country blues (2022-24); athletics blue (2022-24); New Zealand blues (2022-24); scholar blue (2023); academic blues (2022-23); public speaking blues (2023-24); 2023 New Zealand Secondary Schools Track & Field bronze medal senior girls high jump; sports prefect (2024), student council; 2022 New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Track & Field bronze medal junior girls high; board of trustees scholarship to further opportunities in academic activities (2022); NZ Sidey medal (2022-24); Otago Cross-country Championships 1st (2023); Otago Road Race Championships 1st (2023), 2nd (2022); Otago Secondary Schools Cross-country Championships 1st (2022-23), 2nd (2024); school council member (2024).
Role model
Parents Mark and Kanako Lokman.
Hopes for the future
To have a productive career and connect with people.
Maya Satake
Through primary school, her parents got her into a lot of things and she loved getting involved.
‘‘Dance, singing, volleyball, music, even my academics, lots of performing arts stuff - I love it all,’’ she said.
Her schedule was full most days, the 17-year-old said.
She danced about three times a week and rarely had any weekends off.
Her effort has paid off and she has made it to national competitions for dance for the past five years, represented Otago in volleyball and played a lead role in her school’s productions since year 11.
She loved being on stage and the performing arts gave her an opportunity to showcase all her talents, she said.
‘‘I just really love being on stage and putting work out and performing in a way that gives people a sense of joy.’’
She was a very driven person, Maya said.
‘‘I know what I stand for and who I want to be.’’
Next year she was going to take a gap year and work for a while.
She wanted to pursue a career either on the stage or on screen, and was going to look for opportunities to do that, she said.
Achievements
U19 Otago representative volleyball team (2024); Otago Secondary School Senior Volleyball Championship 2nd place (2024), 1st place (2023); outstanding achievement for volleyball (2023); NCEA level 1 and 2 with excellence endorsements (2022 and 2023); RockQuest Otago regional final winner (2023); Hip Hop Unite Nationals 3rd (2023); Asia Pacific Dance Association level 10 Top Tier Award (2023); NZCAF Nationals 2nd place junior crew (2023); NZCAF Nationals 3rd place junior duo (2023); Nautilus chorale blue (2022-23); Performing Arts Cup in the senior school (2023); OGHS cup for achievement in hip-hop (2023); Play it Strange National Secondary Schools Songwriting Competition finalist (2023); songwriting blue (2023); RockQuest blue (2023); Greta Firth Award for Cultural Excellence (2023); hip-hop blue (2023); Marchant Medal for Cultural Excellence (2021, 2022 and 2023); NZCAF Nationals 1st place junior crew and most outstanding crew award (2022); NZCAF Nationals 3rd place junior duo (2022); New Zealand Sidey Blue for placing 1st at NZCAF Hip Hop Nationals (2022); NZCAF Nationals 2nd place junior duo (2021).
Role models
Parents Brian Satake and Helen Roberts.
Hopes for the future
To continue doing what she loves.
