Professor Brett Cown wrote the following article from AUT Auckland
It was great to be back at Burnham Military Camp in Christchurch for the New Zealand Defence Force graduation ceremony. I had the privilege of meeting the top student and academic graduate, Natasha Fungavaka.
Natasha was born and raised in Tonga before relocating to New Zealand, where she attended Vanguard Military School. Her interest in the military was ignited there, and alongside that, she developed a strong passion for health and helping others. These dual passions led her to the NZDF and a career as a medic.
She pursued a Diploma in Paramedicine and a Graduate Certificate in Health Science (Paramedicine) through AUT, which proved to be a transformative and grounding experience. The coursework challenged her appropriately, and the academic support she received made a significant difference. Her placement experiences, in particular, exposed her to the realities of healthcare—observing team dynamics, recognising the importance of composure under pressure, and participating in patient care firsthand.
Graduating marked a significant milestone for Natasha—not only as a student but as someone who grew up in Tonga with dreams of working in health to honour her late mother, who passed away from cancer earlier this year. This achievement is a source of pride for her family, her community, and the younger version of herself. Congratulations, Natasha!
When Kyan left Vanguard he knew exactly what he intended to do. In 2025 he had his 60th amateur fight and ended the year winning his Professional debut with a KO in the first minute of round 1.
He has two more international professional fights lined up for 2026.
Seren moved to the UK in Jan 2023 to work as a full time frontline paramedic, She is now a mentor for younger students.
She also competes in Bodybuilding competitions.
In the first year she started (2025), she won
UKDFBA novice figure and then open figure as well as the female overall winner and was awarded her pro card, making her the British Champion.
PCA trained figure both regional and British finals, making her the British champion with this federation too.
She won both the Figure and Overall female at the NBE show making her the International female champion.
She then competed at the world champs in Boston where she won both the Amateur figure and amateur overall and was awarded her pro card. She then competed the next day in the professional class, where she won both Pro figure
and Overall female as well as best presentation. Making her the new Female world champion.
Tyrone was introduced to weight lifting by Staff Calverley while at school. With hard work and great passion and enthusiasm for the sport, Tyrone competed in his first competition just 4 months into the year where he also received an award for Technical Excellence at the championships and went on to participate at international competitions. He is still pursuing his passion for the sport
Nicholas’s baseball team was selected to play in the National Tournament earlier this year. Despite postponements due to lockdown, Nicholas’s team will get to play later on in the year. Good luck!!!
Vanguard Military School is very proud to be established as one of the Government’s new Partnership Schools which opened in February 2014 in Albany, Auckland. It is a Senior Secondary School that caters for Year 11, 12 and 13 students.
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