Alexandra's own bright spark

Alexandra’s own bright spark

Not only can this 18-year-old make award-winning night vision goggles out of old pieces of TV remote control, headlamps and swimming goggles, he also specialises in endurance cycling competitions. By Fiona Ryder

When actv8 eventually caught up with Hadley Boks Wilson, he was in training for a 12-hour endurance race to be held at Naseby near Dunedin.

During the last year, Hadley has taken part in a Canadian travel scholarship with the Air Training Corps; participated in the Bright Sparks Hi Tech Awards in both Auckland and Christchurch, been nominated for the Realise the Dream week in Wellington where he was awarded the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand IPENZ 4 Ingenuity Award; rubbed shoulders with 12-year-old maths geniuses and immersed himself in a completely different lifestyle in Taiwan, while attending and winning third place at the International Science Fair in Taipei. And, to top it all off, Hadley has been invited by Victoria University, Wellington to study his Bachelor of Engineering there.

This from someone who actually didn’t do so well at school last year. With that kind of schedule one can almost see why! So how does a guy from Dunstan High School, Alexandra, get caught up inthis whirlwind of success?

From what we can gather from this highly impressive, self-confessed ‘magpie’, the catch is following your passions “every working hour you can find”. Showing excellence in other areas of his life has worked out nicely for Hadley. He has been given the opportunity to catch up on the NCEA papers he struggled with at school while he is at university.

Yes, Hadley is now completing his credits while studying for his degree. There is no end to this guy’s determination. He admits it’s not ideal,  but he has always had “trouble getting answers on paper” but if he achieves the really good marks he is capable of Hadley will be able to specialise in his passion — computer systems; primarily robots and IT. With this guy’s skills and ambition, we here at actv8 are right behind him.

So, what has the journey to greatness entailed? After school and during the holidays, Hadley worked in Boyd’s TV and Radio in Alexandra where he could single-handedly modify an iPod and repair most electronic products. He also earned his rank of flight sergeant with the Air Training Corps. His passion for the air seems to have come from his mum, who has her private pilot’s licence. Bringing these two experiences together is what provided the stepping-stone to world travel and a very bright future.

Last summer, Hadley saw his three years of research into night vision goggles pay off. His fetish for shiny things and support from his role model — his dad — culminated in Hadley creating a very effective device for use in night exercises with the Air Training Corps and a project that brought this super-talented young man to the attention of key hi-tech industry people at the 2007 Bright Sparks HiTech Awards.

Hadley’s advice to fellow young innovators is: “Don’t let other people tell you that you can’t do it or you don’t have the ability to do it.” We agree — get out there and demonstrate your talents; people will notice and doors will open.

Well done, Hadley.