JUDGES SPECIAL JUNIOR EXCELLENCE AWARD (ARTS)
PRESENTED TO ...
Lesina Eneleo
SINGER AND PERFORMER (11)
It’s not often that someone else applies for AIMES funding on behalf of another, but Lesina Eneleo is an exception to the usual rule. The 11-year-old Glenfield Primary School student is such an incredibly talented singer and performer that her teacher Derek Dallow could not resist in applying for funding so the youngster can take singing and performing lessons from New Zealand singing icon Suzanne Lynch of The Chicks fame. Derek says only every now and again a student of such natural raw talent is exposed as a diamond. “This year I have been constantly gobsmacked and thrilled to have this young girl with raw outstanding singing and performing talent. On 16th July, Lesina turned 11 years old, but she already has a presence, and a full and mature voice that belies her years,” he says. In May, Lesina won the ‘Glenfield Primary School has Talent’ event, and went on to compete in the 12-school Glenfield cluster involving 10 primary schools, Glenfield Intermediate School and Glenfield College. She won the ‘Technical Best Award’, which is the top award. Separately, Lesina has led both the school’s successful Kapa Haka group and its Pacifica group for the past two years. Last year, she was the first Year 5 student in the 60-year history of the school to lead the Kapa Haka, which is principally made up of Year 6 students. “She is a role model for others and is at the heart of the North Harbour Club’s core mission to provide financial assistance to young people achieving excellence,” Derek says. “Lesina (as with the rest of her family) has a beautiful innate Samoan humility and pride that would probably prevent them from making this application themselves. lt is with this background that I write on their behalf in support of an application for Lesina to be awarded a Junior AIMES Excellence Award.” Derek says he has had the pleasure of witnessing the unbelievable talent demonstrated by young recipients of the AIMES awards for many years, and believes Lesina not only matches that talent but has incredible potential. Lesina Eneleo receives the Judges Special Junior Award from the North Harbour Club – sponsored by Precise Homes – including a cash grant of $1000. All of the winners also receive a 12 month gym membership from AUT Millennium.
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