Amar Patel - an old boy making a difference

Our school captain of 2014, Amar Patel now lives in London and is a Senior Risk Analyst working at the Centre for Disaster Protection, a charity that advises and supports low and middle income countries and international aid organisations in designing and implementing social and financial protections against disaster (natural and man-made).

A qualified Associate Actuary by training, Amar also holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford.

Amar was HIBS school captain in 2014. An outstanding student, leader and representative of HIBS, in his final year he was awarded:

• 1st in Calculus, Accounting and Economics 

• Senior Commerce Prize

• BDO Account Award-Top Accounting Award

• Trustees Award – Presented to a student who has shown greatest

• commitment to study and all-round involvement

• Proxime Accessit to the DUX.

We asked Amar to reflect on his time at HIBS and the journey he has taken over the last decade since finishing. Amar graciously accepted the opportunity to share with us his lasting memories of HIBS and where he is today.

 Back in the day

 Amar grew up in Petone and came to HIBS after a family friend had shared how much he was loving the school. Amar and his father heard about the open day, visited, and he recalls his dad then frantically rushing around to get an application in. HIBS stood out to Amar as it had a big emphasis on special character without specifying a particular denomination, so for his family it seemed the ideal fit.

On entering the school gates back in 2008 as an 11-year-old, he remembers HIBS feeling really big. Everyone was much bigger, and the buildings seemed fancy (possibly due to his first day coinciding with the opening of the Auditorium!). “HIBS was really a place that tried its best to get the best out of its students and this was something I really took to. Just the fact that we were called ‘HIBS Men’ gave us all a boost and a great sense of pride”. Amar spoke fondly of being well supported by all the teachers, of staff willing to give up their time to coach sport, teach music, organise debating or to just offer their support.

Amar visited HIBS in 2021 and noted the many new buildings and a feeling of it being a lot more modern. He also noted that the philosophy, ethos, special character and whole environment seemed to have only improved.

Class of 2014

 “2014 seems like so long ago and only yesterday!”. Amar recalled a feeling of excitement and nervousness heading into his final year with the prior 6 years having had a front row seat to Year 13's and seeing friendships strengthened and bonds formed. He remembers wanting to do as much as possible with the highlight being the International Service trip to Mexico. He still chats with mates about this trip, and the lasting impression it has had.

Influencers and mentors  

 Amar’s favourite subjects were always the ones “that my mates were in!”. He called out loving Year 13 English with Mr Maw and Accounting with Mrs Moore.

Being lost in terms of what direction to take after school, he stuck with subjects he felt comfortable in. Brenda MacKechnie (his Tutor teacher throughout) influenced his decision to become an Actuary. Along with Brenda, he highlighted Mrs Moore, Mr Huckstep and Mr Meadows in the commerce department having had a big role to play in his enjoying commerce subjects.

Amar also acknowledged Mrs Dewar who would take the time to chat about his future and the kind of impact he wanted to have. Amar continued those discussions following his school years and highlighted the support he received in guiding his career toward disaster and social protection.

Along with Mrs MacKechnie, he also gave a shout out to Mr Stevenson who was housemaster of Halberg. Amar commented that the house system and tutor groups really played an important role in supporting him during his early days at HIBS.

Principal Mr Duffy, followed by Mr Hutchins, and Deputy Principal Mr Johnson, were noted as great role models and lead the school in a fantastic direction. Amar noted how fortunate he was to work with them on the student leadership team and their support and leadership set an example for all the leaders that come through the school.

Life after HIBS

 Amar took the leap and studied Actuarial Science at the University of Melbourne. This was a big change from the close environment of HIBS, but he loved it and stayed on to build climate pricing models at a general insurance company while finishing his actuarial training.

COVID then hit and like many, felt the distance to home so a move back to Wellington saw him working at the RBNZ as a policy advisor. He enjoyed this role and working in the public sector but wanted to develop his policy skills. In 2022, Amar studied a Masters in Social Policy at the University of Oxford.

He now works at the Centre for Disaster Protection which is a charity that advises and supports low and middle income countries and international aid organisations in designing and implementing social and financial protections against disasters.

Connecting with Old Boys

 One of the most special things about his old HIBS friends is that even though they’ve gone in separate directions, no matter how much time it has been since they last saw each other, when they meet up it feels like no time has passed at all.

Amar reflected on how special it is to still have connections to the people that he “literally grew up with particularly as we go through different milestones in life. These are friends for life!”. He mentioned how great it is to reconnect with old school friends in different parts of the world, “going from youngsters in Year 7 to now catching up for dinner in flats in London seems pretty surreal and we often discuss how none of us would have really expected this back in Year 7”.

Advice for the Class of 2024

In wrapping up, we asked Amar his advice for our current class as they look to finish their time with HIBS.

“Soak it all up! I think even though that’s a cliché it’s the best advice and I don’t just mean that with regard to your time at HIBS. Things move pretty quickly after school as well and all these different and wonderful things are ahead of you but try your best to enjoy wherever you are, because it will be in past before you know it!

I think the other piece of advice is that no matter how big the world feels or how much distance is between you and your mates! Reach out to them if you need them! And equally reach out to them when you don’t (you never know when someone could use a chat).

You might be doing different things but odds are they are going through similar challenges as you and I’ve found that those same friends who were there to support you during school will almost always be there in support of you when you need it afterward and that it’s a real sign of strength to ask for the support from those who care about you!”.

 Our thanks go to Amar for sharing his story. An inspirational HIBS Old Boy.