Life Members

2022

Alan Neilson

Profile of Alan Neilson.

In 1962 I started at Tauranga Boys’ College in the top stream of the  3rd form (now called Year 9) and was the first person in our family to go to secondary school – my parents, grandparents and  great grandparents all left school at the end of their primary schooling. I was growing up in a very dysfunctional low income family and life was a continual struggle.

Throughout my time at Tauranga Boys’ College I worked in a variety of jobs after school, at weekends and in school holidays to supplement the family income.  In my School Certificate year (now NCEA level 1) I lived in a cabin in a campground where I had to use the communal kitchen, showers etc. as the cabin had no such facilities.

My academic performance at TBC fluctuated as a result of the extra pressures on me. However I remained in the top stream and was often in the top three students in some subjects.

As far as I am know there were no student support structures at TBC then as there are now. However the then principal, Garth Sim, was aware of my background and circumstances. In his modest quiet way he worked in the background to help me and enable me to stay at school. His support also continued after I left school and went to university.

 After university I was a secondary school Mathematics teacher for 2 years and then, when 23 years old,  was offered and accepted  a position lecturing Economics at Waikato University. I subsequently became a Pro Vice Chancellor of the University and in 2002 was delighted to move back to Tauranga as the Pro Vice Chancellor heading up the establishment of the University’s satellite campus in Tauranga. I retired from this role after a very satisfying career.

 Without the support and encouragement I received from Garth Sim in particular but also from other staff at TBC I believe that I would never have been able to have enjoyed the career I followed and the opportunities it has given me. I am pleased to have been able to give something back to the School in recent years as Treasurer of the TBC Old Boys’ Association and also by personally contributing financially into the TBCOBA Acorn Foundation fund.

It gives me a lot of pleasure to see how the income stream from the Acorn Fund and other TBCOBA sources  are providing funding to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds such as I came from to achieve their potential. Furthermore it is very satisfying to hear of successes achieved by students who have been supported through funding and support from TBCOBA.

At the same time these results would not be achievable if it wasn’t for the support provided by staff at TBC just as I received in a more informal way when I was at TBC.