La Chey Meredith - Bachelor of Sports, Health and Physical Education

“From a young age, I’ve always been passionate about sport. Netball was my favourite sport and I played it for eleven years and coached for five years. I love learning about how we can make sport a safe space for our youth and our communities. I have always wanted to study at the University of Auckland and when I realised that the university offered a degree in Sport, Health and Physical Education, I knew it was something I wanted to pursue.

“The best things about this programme were the variety of courses being offered and the endless support from our lecturers. I believe the BSHPE programme offered me a good balance of theory and practical learning opportunities. A lot of the students and I worked part-time as sports coaches while studying, the lecturers were really understanding and were always there to help with assessments or when we felt overwhelmed with our workload. They were very engaging and would always make sure that all our questions were answered.

“Toward the end of my third year, I was offered a position in the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Graduate Programme. I am now coming up to one year with MPI and am pursuing a career in policy. The BSHPE degree equipped me with transferrable skills such as being a critical thinker and problem-solver, having strong communication skills, learning how to step out of my comfort zone, and most importantly, it helped build on my cultural capabilities in better understanding tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

 “If you’re passionate about sport, health and/or physical education and looking for somewhere with a supportive environment with a flexible programme that challenges you then the Bachelor of Sports, Health and Physical Education is the one for you.”