The Finance Minister has made it her “mission” to find the 17-year-old Kaitaia College student who had his ice block selling business shut down by his school an internship at a leading Kiwi business.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis was so impressed by Lennox Goodhew-Wikitera’s story that she flew to the Far North to meet him and make it her “mission” to find him an internship at a leading business.
“He’s brought me north and I’m so glad I came, because his story is one that inspires me and I think is one that will inspire a lot of people. He’s what New Zealand’s future is all about — entrepreneurial people with big ideas,” she said.
The Kaitaia College student made headlines last month when the college’s Board of Trustees shut shop on the Juicies-selling business he’d set up in 2023 after the school canteen closed down.
Despite donating $3000 to the school and paying his tax, the school wouldn’t budge on its decision.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said Lennox Goodhew-Wikatira’s story is “what New Zealand’s future is all about”. (Source: 1News)
His plight caught the attention of the Juicies company, who flew Lennox to visit the Nelson factory. They’ve since offered him a part time contract running their social media.
Now, Willis said she’s on a mission to find him an internship with an “amazing company”.
“I’ve got a mission to make good on my commitment to Lennox, I’m going to find him an internship with an amazing company that does good marketing because he is a young man that will make a big difference to that business and he wants to learn because I said to him ‘do you want to be a millionaire?’ and he said ‘a billionaire’.”
Kaitaia College told Lennox he was able to sell ice blocks but not for profit and all funds would have to got to the school.
“It’s OK, I’ve just moved on from that. I’ll just leverage something that will be sustainable in the future like this [importing business] then I’ve got the job with the Juicey people,” said Lennox.
Lennox also runs a co-op shop in the main street of Kaitaia where he sells a range of items including imported products from Bali and his photography art, which Willis and Northland MP Grant McCallum both visited before they left town.