On Tuesday we held our second Sponsor Advisory Group meeting for the year and what a huge turnout!

We kicked the night off with our guest speaker; behavioural psychologist Dr Kyle McWilliams, who led us on an insightful journey into today’s engineered world. Kyle led a very thought-provoking exercise pushing us out of our comfort zones, designed to challenge participants and opening our eyes to how empathy and human connection work. Kyle also discussed why students and young people now appear to be struggling more than previous generations, suggesting that the cheap thrills of the modern world have left many people desiring more.  The presentation highlighted the need for the Trust to have a greater focus on student welfare, even when some students may appear to be achieving well. 

Students Asalemo and JayJay then joined the group to share their own personal experiences and how the support of the Keystone family has assisted them.

Sponsor Rider Levett Bucknall kindly hosted the evening, and we got a sneak peek at their new project for the Foodstuffs Distribution Centre at Auckland Airport from Josh Tatley and Allene Yoon. As Josh put it, “we are building New Zealand’s biggest shed, with a floorplan of 74,500 sq metres, and 16 cranes working at once to lift the steel onto the roof!”  

The feedback of the evening was very positive, with many sponsors surprised but also pleased with the presentations.

“I liked the fact that the topic had a mutual benefit for Sponsor companies (and keystone students within sponsor organisations) on well being. It was topical with the changing studying and working environments and I also liked the fact the night was punchy timewise.”

A huge thank you again to RLB for hosting us, and thanks to all our sponsors who not only come to these events, but also of course believe in the Trust and are always there to support us! This is the start of many more conversations to come.

To see the photos of the evening, click below!