Back to All News

Cameron King

A graduate from ACG Strathallan with a love of all things boating and a talent for football has been accepted into a prestigious Marine Engineering Programme at a university in Canada.

Image

Cameron King, 19, who graduated from ACG Strathallan last year, was scouted by National Scouting Report (NSR), an American company that searches abroad for sporting talent for American universities.

A long-time footballer who was named Most Valuable Player in ACG Strathallan’s First XI football team last year, Cameron completed a successful application process which involved submitting photos and video footage of his football games and a football trial. But his choice of academic course posed a challenge for the company, who was unable to find a suitable Marine Engineering programme in the US.

Instead, NSR secured him a place in his chosen course at the Marine Institute of Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada. It is the first time NSR looked at universities outside the US for a candidate.

Cameron will be playing football for the university’s Sea Hawks Men’s Soccer team and had to satisfy academic requirements in Maths and Physics to secure the spot.

“He is very excited about this opportunity as you can imagine,” said Cameron’s mother Janette King. “To do Marine Engineering in NZ you either have to join the navy or complete two years at the AUT then transfer to Tasmania for the final two years, so this is a wonderful opportunity.”

Cameron, a Waiau Pa local who lives five minutes from Clarks Beach, grew up in a boating family.

“I have always loved being on or around boats, and I’ve always had a knack for problem solving and putting pieces together. Originally I was planning on being a boat builder, but through this opportunity to go overseas, I changed to Marine Engineering,” he explained.

The hands-on, four-year course will see him learn about the mechanical operation of vessels, naval architecture, and the control of ships’ systems. Over the course of his studies he will spend 180 days at sea and he has his sights firmly set on a future on and around the ocean.

“I would love to be traveling the world doing my job, whether it’s on a container ship, a cruise liner, or a private yacht, he said. “I want to have not only excelled at being an engineer but also learn other aspects of the marine industry, such as navigating, and possibly build some small craft as well.”

Cameron will head over to Canada at beginning of August for pre-season training. His first semester starts in September.