As most will know, I have had a close involvement with the North Harbour Club for over 25 years. One role I have never taken on is judging the annual AIMES Awards. That is, until 2023. Recently I worked with six other judges to find around 20 AIMES winners for 2023 from close to 200 applications. The chair of that judging panel for the past two years has been Andrew MacDonald. Andrew was a winner of AIMES Awards himself (2008, 2010, 2012) and has gone to a career in medicine and is now giving back to the North Harbour Club by judging the awards.
Andrew MacDonald grew up in Mairangi Bay, just across the road from Murrays Bay Intermediate School. He attended Murrays Bay Primary, Murrays Bay Intermediate and Rangitoto College, all in very close proximity. Andrew’s father Colin was in the New Zealand Police for over 30 years, and most recently worked as a police prosecutor. His mum Janine is still working as a teacher at Murrays Bay Intermediate School. Andrew is the middle of three boys. Older brother David works in high-end computing/technology systems, currently for Amazon, while younger brother Michael finished a PhD in Engineering Science and currently works for the University of Auckland following a stint with NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, USA. They are a family of high achievers.
In fact, all three have won North Harbour Club AIMES Awards. In 2010 the brothers managed to score a North Harbour Club ‘trifecta’ by winning an AIMES Award each: Andrew was the AIMES Education winner, David the AIMES IT, Innovation & Science winner, and Michael an Emerging Talent winner – he went on to win the AIMES Education Award in 2013.
“I really thrived in my years at Rangitoto College, where I developed my academic strengths and thirst for knowledge,” explains Andrew. “I was fortunate to have been taught by the excellent teachers that we have here on the North Shore, who inspired me to work harder and achieve more than I thought was possible. My science teacher Dr Catherine Salmons (now at Westlake Boys High School) really had a huge impact on my life, as a brilliant science teacher and coach for the extra-curricular programme Future Problem Solving (FPS).”
Andrew graduated as Dux of Rangitoto College in 2006 and won top NZQA Scholarships awards including New Zealand Premier Scholar (top 10 in the country's Scholarship exams) and Top New Zealand Scholar in Science (top grade in the Scholarship Science exam).
He then attended medical school at the University of Auckland, graduating with distinction in 2012 and being recognised with several academic awards including the Sir Carrick Robertson Prize for Surgery. Since then, he has worked as a junior doctor across different wards and specialties in Auckland, mostly at North Shore Hospital, as well as some time at Auckland City Hospital and a one-year stint as a registrar in neurosurgery at Waikato Hospital. He has also published medical research and presented at conferences over the years, most recently publishing a paper in the international medical journal ‘Skeletal Radiology’ last year.
Andrew now specialises in radiology.
“My initial career plan was to pursue a career in surgery, so I worked for several years as a registrar (a junior trainee in a specialty) in orthopedic surgery (bones and joints) and neurosurgery (brain). I have since switched courses and am now specialising in diagnostic radiology and have almost completed my five years of specialty training to become a radiologist.”
A radiologist is a medical specialist who oversees all diagnostic imaging studies in the hospital and reports the findings of CAT scans, MRI scans, ultrasound scans, X-rays etc. Andrew explains that this is a medical field which combines the latest in technology and scientific knowledge to determine a diagnosis for almost any medical problem, usually rapidly, accurately and without the need for risky surgery. He says it is also a field which has seen exceptional growth, with new technologies and recently the incorporation of AI.
Andrew is in the process of completing his final examinations for his specialty radiology training. He sat three written exams, eight hours total, during this year’s judging process and he has another seven oral exams in Melbourne in June. Once that is all over he starts working towards his next challenge: deciding on a subspecialty field to focus on and applying for overseas fellowships (post-specialisation training positions) in North America, Europe, and/or Australia.
“I am considering subspecialities in interventional neuroradiology, which involves treating brain pathologies (such as aneurysms) via catheters threaded up the blood vessels in an operating theatre style environment, or musculoskeletal radiology, which involves imaging (mainly MRI scans) and procedures (such as injections and biopsies) of bones, joints and spine.”
Outside work, Andrew has continued his involvement in the extra-curricular school programme Future Problem Solving (FPS). He is on the national board for that organisation and is a senior evaluator for the New Zealand programme. He also evaluates for the international competition each year in the United States, which takes him to US college campuses all over the country in June each year.
Other passions for Andrew are running, scuba diving and travel. During his medical training he did a two-month working medical elective (placement) in a small Artic town called Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. He has also journeyed across Eurasia on the Trans-Siberian railway from Beijing to St Petersburg, visited the Chernobyl power plant and exclusion zone in Ukraine, and survived a highly orchestrated tourist visit to North Korea.
So how did Andrew MacDonald end up winning North Harbour Club AIMES Awards?
“I knew of the AIMES Awards since high school, as a number of ‘big name’ achievers at Rangitoto College during my time had won AIMES Awards,” explained Andrew. “These included Terenzo Bozzone (2001/2002), Matthew Flinn (2007) and Rebecca Spence (2006). I never really felt I was in their league, but I believe my parents encouraged me to apply regardless, saying ‘you’ve got to be in it, to win’. It helped that the Emerging Talent Awards were introduced at the time, opening the field to young people still on the way up.
“Winning AIMES Awards, and the recognition that comes with them from the Club, certainly gave me a big boost to my determination to carry on being the best I could be with my medical studies and then my work as a junior doctor. Of course, the money in the bank from the financial grant was also a huge help. Medical school is intense, and although I did some part-time work, the extra money helped to reduce the burden and allowed me to do more of the extra work and projects that got me ahead.”
Andrew has been on the other side since 2016 – judging the AIMES Awards for the past seven years. He was the first AIMES Awards alumnus to become a judge.
“I was invited to join the judges panel and there was no question in my mind that I would accept,” adds Andrew about becoming a judge. “I care a lot about the North Shore, given it is where I grew up and owe much of what I have achieved, as well as the North Harbour Club for supporting me so much. Being a judge is a phenomenal opportunity for me to give some small measure of service back to the community and the club.
“AIMES Awards judging is a challenge that requires intellectual engagement, determination and care. It also requires working together with other incredibly smart and talented – not to mention opinionated – judges. While all of this is hard work and never easy, the whole process is pretty special to be a part of, and it is amazing seeing the end result – our winners up on stage.
“Getting to know all the AIMES Award winners personally is also rewarding. I think it helps to build community on the North Shore as well as expanding our growing AIMES alumni network. Working with the judges panel, with the input and chat, and strong opinions, has also always made it a really satisfying and enjoyable experience.
“The AIMES Awards have attained the distinguished status as what I consider the ‘premier’ awards for young people on the North Shore. The awards recognise excellence above all else: people who have achieved peak performance whatever their field. The awards have preserved this focus steadfastly since their inception almost 30 years ago. I think it’s fair to say that awards or scholarships with this uncompromising emphasis on excellence are increasingly scarce, so I believe the AIMES Awards stand out and are respected for this.”
Andrew adds that he thinks a lot of recognition and popularity of the AIMES Awards also comes down to the distinguished record of Award winners who are well known. “The likes of Lydia Ko (2012), Lorde/Ella Yellich-O’Connor (2013), and more recently Eliza McCartney (2016). This reflects both the exceptional talent that we have developing on the North Shore, and that the North Harbour Club and our wonderful judges are getting everything right with the vision of the AIMES Awards and how the award winners are selected.
“The generous monetary grants are important. Some of the endeavours that our young people are pursuing, especially where they have to go offshore to achieve to the best of their abilities, are incredibly expensive and are not well funded from other sources.”
Chair Andrew and his fellow judges had a big challenge with the 2023 AIMES Awards. There were just under 200 applications.
“All the judges put in huge numbers of hours and sacrifice their own time,” says Andrew. “The role of the Chair also involves a lot of additional organisation and work behind the scenes with the staff and Board of the Club to make sure the whole applications process and judging happens smoothly and effectively. As Chair I need to be familiar with all the applications across all categories, ensure questions of eligibility and category applicability are sorted, and lead the panel in their shared tasks such as shortlisting applications and interviews. I feel responsible for ensuring the judging process is fair and robust to select winners that all of us, the Club and broader North Shore community included, can be sure are the absolute top performers in their category and are deserving of these awards.”
Andrew says that finally selecting the top winners in each AIMES Category is the most challenging task. The categories are The Arts; Innovation; Music; Education; Sport; Service to the Community.
“Our job as judges is to determine who is the absolute best in each category for that year’s applicants. The talent and level of achievement of the applicants is always outstanding; honestly sometimes unbelievable. The most challenging part is coming to a rational decision about who to select out of these applicants, when so many are so performing at similarly high levels. I guess the hardest part of that is that the process results in a number of strong applicants missing out. These can be people who may have competed at the Olympics or Commonwealth Games or be attending Ivy League universities, because in that year’s cohort they didn’t quite come out on top.”
The AIMES Awards judging panel for 2023 was: Andrew MacDonald (Chair); Aidan Bennett; Courtney Davies; Dean Flyger; Shane Cortese; Sue Kohn-Taylor and Tom Ashley. Courtney Davies (2019) and Tom Ashley (2008) are also previous AIMES Award recipients – both winning the AIMES Supreme Award.
The 2023 AIMES Awards are being presented at the North Harbour Club’s AIMES Awards Gala Dinner being held on 10 June at the Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna.
For more information visit: northharbourclub.co.nz
About the North Harbour Club & AIMES Awards
Established in 1995, the North Harbour Club is made up of over 200 members, all leaders in local affairs, business, education, sport and social development. These members, who are all residents or have their businesses in the North Harbour region, have, among other stated aims, the desire to promote excellence by encouraging and providing financial assistance to the young people of the region who are achieving excellence in their chosen field. This support is provided through the annual AIMES Awards programme which has resulted in close to $3 million worth of grants being made to rangatahi of the region since 1995. To qualify for the AIMES Awards, recipients must have shown excellence in the areas of The Arts; Innovation; Music; Education; Sport; and Service to the Community.
For more information visit: northharbourclub.co.nz
