Cove Lambert received the Prime Minister’s Oranga Tamariki Award for general excellence in 2021, one of only 26 youth in the country to receive this award at the time.
Cove Lambert received the Prime Minister’s Oranga Tamariki Award for general excellence in 2021, one of only 26 youth in the country to receive this award at the time.
What might seem like a bump in the road to many, Cove Lambert sees as a launching pad.
From moving countries to moving schools, to becoming a foster child, Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) tauira (student), Lambert always focused on taking the path leading him closer to his goals.
“Growing up I moved around a fair bit, living in England, Australia, Tauranga and then finally moving to Hawke’s Bay when I was 8.”
The changes continued, with moving between two primary schools and being taken into foster care at a young age due to abuse and neglect.
“Being a foster kid was never an easy task. Although this was a weight I had to carry, it was also motivation,” Lambert says.
“The scholarship has really made a huge impact on my lifestyle at University. It allowed me to focus on the work at hand and not so much on the monetary side of things.
“I have achieved and participated in so much more than I imagined I would have been able to.”
Lambert also credits his high school, Central Hawke’s Bay College, with providing him a platform to excel.
“I was on the student council for three years, the Board of Trustees student rep twice, and then the deputy head prefect in 2023.”
Years 9-13 were also big on sport, something that has always been a part of his life, Lambert says.
“Being active was almost like therapy to me, helping me zone out of everything buzzing through my brain and allowing me to focus on enjoying the moment.”
While at high school, Lambert went to the nationals for the long jump and triple jump, played in his college’s football first XI, captaining and being awarded most valuable player in his last year, and the golden boot in his final two years. He also competed in the school’s top senior boys’ volleyball team and captained the school’s Ki-O-Rahi team.
“These sporting opportunities were massive contributors to my life and in the shaping of my future.”
Even through the struggles of being a foster child, Lambert never let his focus waver, instead using it as a source of motivation to prove he could still achieve what he put his mind to and be a positive role model, he says.
Cove Lambert at CHB College with some of his sporting trophies.
His hard work resulted in Lambert receiving the Prime Minister’s Oranga Tamariki Award for general excellence in 2021, one of only 26 youth in the country to receive this award at the time.
The awards acknowledge excellence in a variety of areas such as academic achievement, creative entrepreneurship, skills and technology, and leadership for rangatahi who have been in care.
“Receiving the award was an absolute privilege.
“It showed me that I really could achieve what I work hard for, as well as inspire me even more in helping other people, giving them the necessary support and guidance to succeed and have a higher quality of life.”
His passion for helping others drove Lambert to explore youth work through Epic Ministries, a charitable trust focused on the development of youth in Central Hawke’s Bay.
Through Epic Ministries, Lambert had the opportunity to be a part of the Central Hawke’s Bay Youth Council and work as a youth intern organising fortnightly activities for children.
“These opportunities helped me develop my interpersonal skills and qualities, my outlook on myself and on others, and how I could positively impact other people’s lives.”
While school, extra curriculars and volunteering seemed like a lot, Lambert says “doing all of these things seemed impossible from an outside perspective, but I realised once you start to actually do them, you always manage to find the time.
“I’ve found the benefit of making other people happy is well worth the hard task.”
Now that he’s at Otago, he’s aiming high, both in his studies and enjoying everything university has to offer.
“I’m working towards being accepted into the physiotherapy programme, as well as keeping up my own fitness and passion for sports and helping people around me,” Lambert says.
“I also aim to have enjoyment in my life as a whole through the things I do, the decisions I make, the things I have achieved, and everything that I am yet to achieve.”
It’s that it is important to look beyond the struggles to find a solution and to persevere, he says.
