Little did Tony Zhou's parents realise when they emigrated from China to New Zealand in the late 1980s that just over two decades later their yet-to-be-born son would become head boy at a highly-regarded Wellington secondary school with a roll of more than 1400 students, viz. Tawa College.

As a year 13 student Tony usually wears "college mufti" to school rather than full uniform as in the above photo. On the day we met for this interview his lunchtime had been spent in meeting with head prefects from other colleges in the Porirua basin, five in all, along with Kris Faafoi, MP for Mana. The purpose of the exercise was to discuss issues relevant to the Porirua region, particularly for youth.

Tony also plays a major part in the likes of the Breakfast Club, a "social get-together" for various students before school on a Wednesday morning, one of the many responsibilities which go with the role of a head student.

Where were you born, Tony?
Lower Hutt.

Where did you grow up?
Moved to Titahi Bay at age 4 and have been there ever since.

What schools have you been at?
Kura Street School (Titahi Bay), years 6-9 at St Mark's School (by the Basin Reserve), year 10 onwards at Tawa College.

What subjects are you doing this year at college?
Calculus, Statistics & Modelling, Biology, Physics, Chemistry.

What are you hoping to do when you leave school?
Looking to either being an engineer or something like Health Sciences down at Otago - medicine or dentistry. If I chose engineering, I'd prefer to go to Auckland [University].

What does being a head student actually involve, any particular responsibilities?
The main things are being a role model to the other students in the school, someone they can look up to, and also positively impact as many other people's lives as much as possible.

What about family?
I live at home with Mum and Dad with an older sister and a younger brother who is currently in year 11 at Tawa College.

What are your interests/hobbies?
I like to do a lot of sports. This year I've taken up dragonboating as well as the usual sports that I do, tennis in summer and hockey in winter. I did Stage Challenge [at school] this year. "That was pretty cool." I did some acting for the major production last year as well. I wanted to take part this year but just didn't have enough time.

What do you like about Tawa College?
I like that the College has quite a positive atmosphere. Many different cultural groups are represented here, and I like how they can interact with each other. I like the different opportunities for sports and culture that you can do here - music, the arts, etc.

What is your favourite dessert?
"I do love a good brownie. Chocolate brownies are pretty good."

Favourite sports team and/or sportsperson?
[After a pause ...] The All Blacks I guess. Probably everyone's favourite.

Favourite musical group and/or style of music?
Umm - I quite like Kings of Leon. [At this point we'll provide the same info as in the interview with Tawa College's head girl in 2009, and that is this: for those of an earlier generation, Kings of Leon are an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999, according to Wikipedia - Ed.]
[Back to Tony in 2011 ...] "Just a bit of everything. Whatever's on ZM."

Favourite holiday destination in New Zealand?
My family particularly likes going up to Wanganui and Palmerston North to see relatives. [What about you? - Ed.]. I think they're alright but my personal favourite is New Plymouth because I love the beaches up there.

Favourite quote or saying?
One that I've heard pretty recently and taken to heart quite a bit is "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day). [Googling that expression, it's an exhortation to live life to the fullest, getting the most out of each individual day - Ed.]

If you could meet any two or three people (alive or dead), who would they be?
One of them would be Will Smith. I love all his movies. He's a great actor and seems like a pretty cool guy all round.

What two or three things would you take with you if you were stuck on a desert island?
Friends definitely. A computer with internet access. "I can't live without Facebook." And big speakers, as in a good sound system.

What is one talent you would like that you do not have?
Probably something musically, like singing or playing the guitar. [You're not in any singing groups at school? - Ed.] I don't think I'm quite that good - Tony.

What is one talent you have that you could not do without?
I can shuffle moderately well [as in dance, not cards]. "I did it on the Great Wall of China." [Tony was part of the recent Tawa College Mathematics trip to China. See his YouTube clip here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NY0qFdOLSA].

Any accomplishments/achievements in your life (to date) that give you much satisfaction/pride?
Being head boy is pretty important to me. "I'm proud of the fact that I was chosen to represent not only my friends but the rest of the students at Tawa College."

What are one or two things you would like to achieve in the years ahead?
I'd like to become good at whatever career path I choose to do in the future and use that to travel the world and just experience life outside of New Zealand really.


Compiled July 2011.