James Poh

Founder,
Square One

James Poh is a critical and open-minded person, driven to expand his world-view and always curious to learn more. 

Growing up, he got to witness three different school environments, where he left Saint Kentigern College as a year 9 (grade 8) to join Auckland International College in pursuit of a better environment to learn in, but after only one year studying there, it was forced to close as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This completely unexpected turn to my future presented a difficult decision to make, and the outcome was that he left the school to join my current school, ACG Parnell College.

Settling into three schools in the span of four years is undoubtedly difficult. The difficulties of disruption in the learning environment were compounded with the change in curriculum from IB to A level, especially as he had planned to take the IB programme. However, the most disruptive change that came about was the prospect of having to establish new relationships with peers and teachers.He considers the relationships he has with others to be of the greatest importance in his life, and he treats them with respect, honesty, and integrity. 

To pursue his goal of becoming knowledgeable and informed, he is immersing myself in a wide variety of subjects in and out of school. From working towards a diploma in public speaking (being currently grade 8) to competing in the New Zealand Olympiad in Informatics, he uses the opportunities available to him to become acquainted with a wide variety of skills. To become more involved in global issues, he has also founded Square One, an initiative to help others achieve their goals through multi-stakeholder support. To this end, he has already presented in multiple global forums and events such as UN APFSD and YOUNGA. 

Looking ahead, his greatest goal in life is to become knowledgeable in all areas such that he is able to form his own opinion on things such as politics, morals and philosophy, without undue influence from other sources. Similarly, he also wants to develop his own world view and moral values so that he has his own yardstick to measure what he sees to be right or wrong. To achieve this, he hopes to expand his horizons and gain more experiences wherever he can, whether this be through extracurricular activities or opportunities to simply learn more.