ABOUT the CREATOR
Ed Campbell
My name is Ed Campbell and at my school in year 10 students are asked to do a task known as a personal project. Which is doing a project on something that we feel strongly about. For my personal project I have decided to interview famous people who have overcome tremendous odds to succeed in life and make a name for themselves in the big wide world.
For my personal project I thought very deeply about what I wanted to do and I thought about how I could leave something behind or teach people something I deem important, so I thought to myself, I have always enjoyed autograph collecting and meeting famous people and getting right where the action is. So I thought how can I expand on this hobby. I thought what if I was to actually have a proper conversation with these people and find out what their motivation is and how they have overcome the odds put against them. I put this idea to work and looked at all the ways I could present my idea and how could I make it user-friendly and eye catching. So after much research and planning I came up with the idea to make a website based around success and use Health and Social education as my area of interaction and make it a cornerstone to my project. So this website aims at teaching young people how some of New Zealand's very best have tackled obstacles and difficulties in their respective lives to eventually succeed and make a career for themselves.
It has been so interesting finding out what drives people to success and how they overcome adversity. However it hasn’t always been easy. I have spent ages tweaking my many different questionnaires, a great deal of time has been spent conducting background research into the lives of all of my interviewees, read all about these people and learn everything I possibly can about them. Then I must contact them. This is where I have had the most trouble. As it is hard waiting for replies or just being ignored entirely but when I get a response, there is no better feeling and it makes up for all the hours of hard work. Then I have to do the interview and I worry what their response will be and how they will answer my questions. I still have plenty more to do but I love every second of it and have found it to be an amazing experience.
My advice to you with any project you do:
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Be organised!
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Never miss meetings
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Always make note of your challenges
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Be patient.
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Enjoy your project and don’t let it become a chore.
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Reflect on every part of the journey
I recently asked Jim Lovell (famous astronaut from Apollo 13) what his one tip for success was and he said, “Shoot for the Stars”. So I pass that on to you, anything is possible.
Disclaimer: I have tried at all times to be as accurate as possible, if any inaccuracies are noticed please let me know and I will gladly alter them, thank you.
The Continuation of www.Inspirationalkiwi.com
I finished this project towards the end of 2013 where I had completed my project of interviewing the first 12 people on the home page. I really enjoyed this experience of meeting inspirational people and having a chance to speak to them. However, one of the things that I enjoyed the most was the journalism aspect of the project. I really enjoyed snapping a photo with these people and then returning home to construct a biography about them and transcribing their interviews.
At the age of 17 I made a couple new additions to the website which can be found from the about page, Cedric Jackson and Keisha Castle-Hughes.
Where am I today?
I am now 22 years old in my final year at University studying politics and international relations at the University of Reading. After loosely running this page I decided to reinstate it and buy a new domain name to keep it up and running to hopefully inspire other young Kiwis, showing them what New Zealanders are capable of. I currently have aspirations in pursuing a career with the military, the civil/foreign service or in journalism. I am currently looking for support and guidance into developing my career.
If you have any questions or queries email me at ewdcampbell@hotmail.com