Inspiring Explorers Expedition™: Antarctic Peninsula 2019
Georgina Archibald is a young woman with a big personality and an even bigger heart, who continues to be an inspiring role model for the Trust’s younger Inspiring Explorers.
Venturing to a completely foreign, isolated landscape so far from home is both an exciting and challenging prospect, especially for younger Inspiring Explorers™. This is where mentors with wide ranging skills and experience, like Georgina, prove so valuable.
Georgina was in her element helping some of her fellow team members to negotiate the experience. “I shared this once-in-a-lifetime experience with a really diverse group of individuals, including a number of younger teammates. Part of my role was to check in to ensure they were in a good headspace, connected with the group at large and acting upon challenges or stresses.”
Along with a love for the outdoors, exploration and challenges, Georgina has a thirst for the world of academia. A Fulbright Scholar she also holds a Law degree and Masters in English Literature and has worked in a number of different tertiary institutions before becoming a Learning Advisor Pasifika at Ara Institute of Canterbury. All these experiences have honed her leadership and mentoring skills.
Georgina’s generosity of spirit meant that for some months following the 2019 Inspiring Explorers™ Expedition, she continued to mentor two students from Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate, providing support and advice around applying for tertiary education and scholarships. With Georgina’s help, one of these students has gone on to study Engineering at the University of Auckland, with a scholarship towards her first year of study.
Alongside mentoring, Georgina had many incredible personal experiences in the pristine environment of the Antarctic. One that stood out was the overnight camp at Portal Point, where the team had kayaked at dusk, with fur seals playing around them. “We had to walk our gear up a small hill and then dig out our holes, ‘shallow graves’ our ship guide called them, put in our bivvy bag set up, and then jump in and zip up. All the while, the sun was setting over this fantastic view of the bay, with the bluest of blue icebergs, glaciers, the ship in the distance outlined with lights, and then the soft pastels of the evening light – it was just beautiful.”
Georgina has continued to build a deep relationship with the Trust since the expedition. She was a volunteer team leader for the Inspiring Explorers™ Summit and a member of the selection panel for the 2020 expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula. Georgina has also been welcomed to the Trust Board as a Governance Intern.
“Growing my governance experience will help me to make meaningful impact across my communities. Following the expedition, I also continue to share the story of the power of exploration for personal development, alongside key values of caring for our environment and caring for each other.”
