We are incredibly proud to celebrate the success of our 2026 Cultural Captain, Suhani Gupta, who has been selected to compete in the National Semi-Finals of the Race Unity Speech Awards.
Suhani recently represented Hillcrest High School at the Waikato regional heats, where students from across the region delivered speeches on this year’s theme, “Listening to Understand.” The competition encourages young people to explore ideas around race unity and contribute to strengthening relationships across Aotearoa.
Suhani delivered a powerful and thoughtful speech, sharing her perspective alongside practical solutions to real-world challenges within our communities. Her ability to communicate with insight, empathy, and purpose saw her take out top honours at the regional level.
As a result, Suhani will now travel to Auckland to compete in the national semi-finals on 9 May — an outstanding achievement and a reflection of both her leadership and commitment to making a positive difference.
We wish Suhani all the very best as she takes this next step. We know she will represent our kura with pride.
