James Petherick, Class of 2014, left Dilworth 9 years ago and has already created a career and personal success that can be well celebrated. Making the most of every opportunity seems to have been his formula along the way.
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As Head Prefect of his year and finishing school with good grades James successfully applied for several tertiary scholarships, one of which set him on a pathway to the life he now leads nine years later.
The story starts in Year 13 when he was offered a short 2-week work experience internship at the Dilworth Trust Board during the school holidays. He knew then that the property industry was where his passion lay, so when the then GM of Property, Ian Redshaw, told him about the Keystone Trust Scholarship*, he applied and was successful. Like other Leavers Support Grants offered by Dilworth and Auckland University, this scholarship allowed James to avoid having a large student loan debt to contend with once he finished his studies. James says, “Being debt-free was hugely advantageous as it meant that I didn’t have to worry about finances and could properly focus on university and get the most out of it. It also greatly helped me achieve my financial goals early on.”
Unencumbered by student loans, he was able to start immediately in property. Now, at 27, James owns two properties and has set himself up for future opportunities. But he has worked hard and made sacrifices to achieve his goals along the way.
While studying a 4-year con-joint degree in Property and Commerce, he could work part-time through the connections he had made during his studies. At Uni, he decided to give the ‘Property Case’ Competition a crack. His team won, which meant they went to the University of Sydney competition, where they came 3rd, which qualified them for the Cornell Competition in New York City. Other opportunities followed and James reflects on just how cool it was to win the chance to travel overseas and meet so many like-minded people in the field he was studying.
It was during these experiences that he met the people at Blackstone. At another chance meeting, he got invited at the last minute to attend a Keystone rugby luncheon at the Hilton. Quickly borrowing a suit from a mate in the Uni halls, he ended up sitting next to the CEO of Kiwi Property. This led to a 2-week work experience, which turned into a fantastic part-time Uni job, followed by a full-time role in Property upon graduation – a tenure of over six years! He admits he started at the bottom at Kiwi Property but is grateful for this start in his career. He learnt a lot and worked to become a Leasing Analyst (a role Kiwi created especially for him) and, later, a Leasing Executive. He thinks the Kiwi team are awesome and keeps in contact with many of his former colleagues there.
James has continued to make the most of the opportunities that have come his way. “Never turn down a chance to have a coffee with someone,” he tells me. “I’m open to connections as they can always positively impact you”. Not surprisingly, when asked to describe the two or three words he feels sum up his time at Dilworth, he says Opportunity and Connection. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the gift of opportunity Dilworth gave me, with all the sports, wellbeing and mental support, and career counselling at school, and the support after leaving too.” He knows mates from other schools who don’t have the same strong connection or bond as Dilworth Old Boys. The deep friendships built up by 24/7 living, playing, learning, creating, eating, laughing, and achieving together are for a lifetime.
His passion for the school and the people involved remains. James came back to Dilworth as a House Assistant in 2017 and then went on to be a House Manager.
In a few words, it’s hard to encompass all that James Petherick has done in his short life, but suffice it to say, he is going places. He lives and works in Melbourne in a new role at Vicinity as a Leasing Executive. That opportunity came about again through his hard work, tenacity, and networking at previous jobs. In property, there is a saying, location, location, location. With James, it is more like connections, connections, connections.
James has incredible drive and aspiration. He says he thinks it came from being given so many opportunities at Dilworth, where he learned to just be open to everything, go with the flow, do all the things on offer and see how it turns out. He learned to trust his instinct and knows what feels right.
He’s left the country with a firm grip on what he wants to achieve, but he says, “I’ll stay in touch with people in NZ, and I have connections in Australia with some Old Boys who are there too.” We are sure we will hear more about James Petherick in the future, and are looking forward to remaining connected to this young Old Boy and seeing where his amazing journey of opportunity and connection will take him.