Former Whangarei Girls' High School student Emma Hawkins' career came full circle after she returned to her alma mata to design 13 new classrooms.
Mrs Hawkins, 27, graduated from WGHS in 2005 and moved to Wellington where she achieved a Masters of Architecture with distinction from Victoria University.
Following summer work experience at Whangarei firm Hawthorn Geddes, Mrs Hawkins accepted a position at the firm and has since worked on projects such as Kmart and the new Toyota dealership.
Having knowledge of how the school works and of staff, many of whom were her former teachers, had helped, she said.
"It's nice to be able to give back to the school," Mrs Hawkins said.