That is because she has agriculture classes both first and second period at Taieri College and it is a subject she is passionate about.
Sporting a dog whistle engraved with her initials around her neck, Elise (17) said she wanted to be a shepherd on a sheep and beef farm.
Equally passionate about the rural sector is Kat Nichol, the school’s head of agriculture, who farms with her husband Gary at Lee Stream.
While quick to deflect any credit to her students, Mrs Nichol has been the driving force behind the development of practical learning in the agriculture department, and it has been embraced by her classes.
Last Thursday, pupils were getting their hands dirty — literally — as they were transplanting pittosporum seedlings in a hothouse.
They were from the late Erin Howard, of Macraes, who was passionate about raising and planting native plants, and who gave Mrs Nichol a seed-raising tray containing 700 seeds.
Nearby was an extensive vegetable garden, the raised beds made by pupils and old desks converted to cloches.
Some of the produce harvested by the students was used by the school’s food technology department.
Students were taught how to prune the fruit trees and there were worm farms and composting on-site.
A shed was well stocked with tools and equipment for the students to use. During breaks between classes, the students could still be found working away, including laying paving stones.
Mrs Nichol said there had been strong support for the initiative and one of the parents, Nigel Hodge, from Blackhead Quarries, delivered gravel which the students helped spread.
Experienced fencing contractor Dwayne Young spent a day with the students, showing them the ins and outs of fencing via short sections of fence erected on the site.
During spring, Mrs Nichol would bring a lamb to school each day. Last year, one of them, named Arnold Schwarzenegger, made a bit of a din as he searched for bottles of milk and did skids in the classroom.
Seventeen-year-old Aroha Renata is also studying beauty therapy, which she admitted was an unusual combination, but she particularly enjoyed potting plants and being outside.
Workplace or on-farm placements had been very popular; they included stints on sheep and beef and dairy farms, forestry operations and even at the nearby Wingatui racecourse.
Skills learned counted towards primary trades academy standards.
Once the placements finished, the students were given school-grown native plants to take to the farmers or businesses as a thank-you gift.
Mrs Nichol, who was an enthusiastic advocate of hands-on learning, said there were no barriers for the students if they needed help, while farmers involved loved the initiative.
