Sights set on rural banking career
GREEN PASTURES: Former WHS student Jack van Bussel is heading for a rural banking career.
Whanganui's Jack van Bussel likes both agriculture and business and was this year's Massey University Agricultural Student of the Year.
He was awarded that honour, and $1000, at a dinner in Palmerston North last month.
On Monday Mr van Bussel was waiting to hear whether the South Island earthquake had disrupted the last exam of his three-year bachelor of agricommerce degree.
"I was looking forward to ticking it off and being done."
He's gotten a lot of As during his study, but said he was not quite a straight A+ student.
Ahead of him is a summer working on a family friend's farm, with "semi-social hours" so he can enjoy a lifestyle, followed by a job in rural banking at Westpac in Hastings.
Enjoying the outdoors
He doesn't come from a full-on farming background but his family does own a 2.8ha lifestyle block at Putiki, grazing cattle.
"From a young age I always enjoyed the outdoors, going outside and mucking around on the little bit of dirt that we had," he said.
He helped out on the farms of friends, and at school his two favourite subjects were economics and accounting.
A family friend talked to him about rural banking, and he decided that was the path he wanted to take.
"One of the things that appealed to me is the indoor and outdoor mixture of work, so it isn't all in the office."
As a rural banker he'll have his own portfolio of clients, and be able to visit their farms to see how they're doing. Recent years with low payouts have been tough for some, and he said climate change would create other challenges.
"Everyone knows it's not what they want it to be. I'll just go to them and try and make sure they're doing all right."
On leaving school, Mr van Bussel checked the Massey website and found a lot of scholarships for agriculture students. He's had a few, and is finishing university with a smaller student loan than some.
And he's managed to fit a lot of sport in around his studies.
He rowed while at Whanganui High School and continued that at Massey. He played rugby for the Massey Rams.
He has been captain of the team for the last two years, and said that was awesome.
As a member of the Massey Young Farmers' Club, he's also been visiting schools to encourage students to study agriculture.
He's not sure whether he wants to eventually become a farmer himself, but said he would "definitely, possibly" look at buying his own farm when he had a bit of money behind him.
- The Country
By Laurel Stowell
Wanganui Chronicle 17/11/16