Lucious Mann
Growing up he always wanted to be an astronaut and would pester his parents for books about space.
Now the 17-year-old astronomer and budding astrophysicist spends his time working with other local enthusiasts to help plot the stars.
Lucious has been interested in space for as long as he can remember and over time his passion has only grown.
His birthday present this year was a university astronomy textbook and he has already gone from cover to cover.
A lot of people believe the current generation was born too late to explore the Earth and too early to explore the stars, but Lucious disagrees.
He thinks they are in a position to be pioneers and map the stars like never before, which is nearly as exciting.
"There’s so much we don’t know."
As the winner of a Students With a Passion for Astronomy scholarship, he was selected to speak at the annual Royal Astronomical Society meeting, where he expressed to the audience why he loved astronomy so much.
"My whole life I have been looking up to the stars."
He works alongside local community groups, as data from a group of telescopes was far more useful than just one.
Growing up he always wanted to be an astronaut, but now he hopes to one day achieve a PhD in astrophysics.
When he shifts his focus to the ground, Lucious acts as a standing member of the Clutha District Youth Council.
When he first joined he did not know much about what they did, but a lot of important work went on behind the scenes.
Some of the projects he had worked on were the annual youth week and anti-methamphetamine fundraisers.
He acted in a variety of leadership roles at school, such as secretary for the ball planning committee and as a leader for juniors interested in online games.
He believed that as he was spending time at school anyway he may as well contribute.
One thing he was particularly proud of was the school’s Rainbow Soup group, which he co-founded to help support queer pupils.
When he started at school he struggled to find support and was proud to have set up a network for others.
Achievements: Prefect (2022); Clutha District Youth Council standing member(2021-2022); ball planning committee secretary (2022); SWAPA scholarship (2022); Rainbow Soup leader (2021-2022); overall personal excellence award (2020) citizenship award (2020, 2021).
Role model: The Doctor from Doctor Who.
Hopes for the future: To achieve a PhD in astrophysics.
Seth Black
Instead he pulled out the electronics and installed his own Bluetooth receiver, leaving him with a working wireless sound system for his ride.
The 17-year-old budding electrical engineer uses his passion for physics and electronics to fuel his studies.
His favourite subject is physics, which he finds provides an understanding of life’s functions which he appreciated and was intrigued by.
His love for the subject was sparked in year 10, when he took a mechanics course and found it to be a fusion of math and science, two subjects he enjoyed.
He plans to pursue a career in electrical engineering.
While that pathway could see him working on large projects like hydro dams, he is far more interested in small scale electronics.
"I’ve always had this obsession with tiny things."
When he was about 5 he started to take apart pens, which drove his parents crazy.
He no longer leaves pieces of pen around the house, but now his room is littered with pieces of wire.
He also spends his time playing hockey, where he bonds with his team-mates and focuses on having fun.
Although he was a member of the 1st XI and competed in regional exchanges, he never got overwhelmed and always enjoyed the game.
At school he acted as a mentor for junior pupils, the treasurer for the school ball, a bus monitor and the head boy.
Growing up he lacked confidence and each little thing he did helped him develop as a person.
The biggest responsibility he had taken on was head boy, a role he never believed he could do as a junior.
Although he still got nervous before addressing the school, he was proud of how far he had come.
All of his responsibilities take up a lot of Seth’s time, but he always finds a moment to de-stress by tinkering away on electrical projects in his room.
Achievements: Head boy (2022); All round best junior pupil (2019); junior citizenship Lions Trophy (2019); 1st in maths (2020); 1st in physics (2021); Tuakana Teina (2022); peer support (2022); school ball treasurer (2022); bus monitor (2022); 1st XI hockey (2020-2022); Level 1, 2 merit endorsement (2020, 2021).
Role model: Former president of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who rose to success despite his background.
Hopes for the future: To study a diploma of electrical engineering at Otago Polytechnic.
