SADD Stories..Life after SADD with Alice Kibble
Here at SADD we pride ourselves on developing some amazing young leaders, and the hope is always that they will carry on that mantel into life after school. We caught up with Alice Kibble one of our previous National Leaders, about life after SADD and how she recently ran for the local Council.
Kia Ora, my name is Alice Kibble, I am 18 years old and live in Gisborne.
I started volunteering at age 6 and have worked with many local and national not for profit organisations over the last 13 years. I am a 3 time recipient of the Gisborne Volunteer Centre Youth Award, a 2017 Kiwibank local hero and 2017 nominee for Young New Zealander of the year.
What school did you go to, and what was your involvement with SADD?
I first joined SADD when I was 13 in Year 9 at Gisborne Girls High School. I joined SADD because I have seen the impacts of a car crash, and what that has meant for my mum’s life. I first attended conference when I was 15 in Feilding, and met so many amazing friends. I still see them pop up on my Facebook news-feed sometimes and they are all doing such great things. I came away from conference feeling so inspired to make change in my community, with Gisborne having some of the worst driving stats in the country. The year after, I went to the Auckland conference which was a lot faster to get to via plane. I also met some great people, some of which are National Leaders now. I became a National Leader in 2017 and was inspired by Abby Brice who was a national leader from Gisborne before myself. I really enjoyed getting out of my small city and going around the country meeting like minded people. I was always ‘that student’ that would watch out for others driving with passengers on their restricted, it was my pet peeve.
What did you get up to after school?
I didn't know what I wanted to do when I left high school, if I am honest I have thought many times about working for SADD, but it just never really felt like the right time. I left school with the plan of moving to Japan in September of this year with the Lattitude Global Volunteer Programme, volunteering helping adults with disabilities. But things didn't really go to plan. I went on Holiday to England to see my family that I hadn't seen in 9 years, and 4 days before we were meant to come home I broke my leg roller skating and have had 3 surgeries, 1 in England and 2 here in Gizzy. It really left me with no plan for my future.
You ran for Council in the recent local elections, which is an awesome thing to do! What made you want to do that?
While I was recovering I wanted to get stuck back into Youth Council, only to find it was going under review this year. I ended up attending the Council meeting that week that was discussing the future of the Youth Council, and was surprised by the conversations around the table about the need for a youth voice. I was encouraged to run for council by the Mayor Meng Foon, who is now our Race Relations Commissioner, and his Deputy who is now Mayor Rehette Stoltz. After a lot of thinking, I decided to run in May this year as the youngest ever candidate for my region and one of the youngest in the country.
What did you learn from the process of running for council?
It was a lengthy learning process, lots of speeches, events, and billboards. It taught me so much about my community, Council, and the issues we are facing. I feel it really boosted my confidence as a young person and shined a light on the need for a youth perspective in Gisborne and all around New Zealand. After 6 months of hard work the election came to an end. Although I was not successful, I did gain 3031 votes placing 13 out of 25 candidates for 9 seats. I only needed 1500 more votes. As a first time candidate at 18 years old I see it as a success. I am not disheartened, but rather inspired to try again and make change in my community.
What are you up to now?
They always say as one door shuts, another opens, and I feel that has been so relatable to me since I have left school. After the election was over I received 3 job offers within the following weeks and I would like to try and manage all three. I have just started one of them, working as the coordinator of Tairawhiti Community Voice, which is a network support for grassroots community organisations.
A lot of people get involved with SADD because they want to be leaders in their community, how do you recommend people keep doing that after they leave school?
My advice to any students reading this is first and foremost, don't be afraid to break the boundaries. University isn't the only option, do what you want to do and what makes you happy. Look to your family and friends for support, or find people that are on the same path as you and look to them for inspiration. Lastly, be the change in the world you want to see because if you don't do it, who will?
Alice’s story is a great encouragement to keep persevering, even when things do not go entirely to plan.
If you are moving on at the end of this year, be encouraged that there are many ways to keep on influencing your community and the people around you. Also please stay in touch with us!
Thanks Alice for sharing your story! Got a story for the blog? Contact us