Krystal’s Story
“My first memory of being creative was probably in kindergarten,” says Krystal, seventeen. “We made these art pieces with paper and paint and marbles, rolled it around and created artwork.”
For Krystal, that spark never went away. Initially taken by creative writing and acting, as she got older she also started developing an interest in the more technical side of the arts – working with cameras, lights, and computers as tools to create and express herself.
Like over 11,000 other kiwi kids – a per-year figure that has doubled since 1999, according to the Ministry of Education’s homeschooling database – Krystal was homeschooled. She started when she was fourteen, after feeling like the structure and content of high school wasn’t the right fit for her.
“Before I was at EmployNZ I was home schooled and doing online tutoring with maths and writing and poetry and all that stuff,” she says. “I decided that I needed my NCEA levels so I went to a careers expo and found EmployNZ.”
Starting with the Level 1 Careers Unlimited course, Krystal then moved into Level 2 Creative Tech, a project based course where she created and bound her own book, documenting the process with a how-to video, and then created her own card game with rules and packaging.
“We’d always start with a creative warm up with the whole class. Just get to know each other better and get to warm up our brains. And then we’d do whatever our unit was that we were working on for the day. And then in the afternoons we’d have time to work on our own creative project.”
I also sat down with Lachlan Crane, Krystal’s Creative Tech tutor. Showing me around EmployNZ’s video/audio recording studio, he said about Krystal – “She’s a self-starter, she always communicated really effectively, was always driven and interested in pursuing her interests and that’s exactly what this course is designed to do. I think what was really great about Krystal and what I find makes my students successful is when there isn’t one specific discipline that they are set on, where they’re interested in creating and want to put that in as many different contexts as possible.”
The Level 2 course is designed to be project based, with students learning broad skills like time management and communication, while also learning creative industry specific tools like camera’s, microphones, and creative software. They then apply these skills to projects that they’ve chosen themselves, and work with their classmates to execute on their ideas. The course also integrates Literacy and Numeracy, so learners walk away with a NCEA level 2 vocational pathway award.
After graduating the course, Krystal set her eyes on the live industry. “What I took away from the course was that I definitely want to get into the creative industry,” she tells me. “Lighting and sound was quite a big one, and I saw that Baycourt was doing a teen tech program, and I thought it would be a super great opportunity to learn more in the theatre side, which is what I’m super into.”
Baycourt – a theatre opened by the then Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1983 – has offered a teen tech programme since 2020. The scheme is designed to develop the skills of school age learners with both theoretical and practical training, in order to prepare them for entry level work in the live industry.
“Every day we’d focus on a different aspect of theatre technology. So one day it would be sound, then the next one would be lighting, and so on,” Krystal told me. “I definitely learnt a lot of stuff that I can apply in real life, and it’s led to me doing tech for Come From Away, which is a new show coming up.”
While I pack up my camera, Krystal chats to some of Baycourt’s techs, as well as Dale Henderson, the theatre’s Technical and Operations Manager. Someone had recognised Krystal working on a show, and reported back.
“It’s weird,” Krystal says. “People are starting to know who I am.”
“And that’s how the industry works,” says Dale.
Krystal offers to help me pack up my lights, while she asks about my own journey in the creative industries. Primarily a videographer, I had also gotten my start in theatre, filming shows. Krystal reminded me a lot of myself at that age, eager to apply herself and show people she was willing to do what it took to succeed in a competitive industry. I ask her what she’d say to someone in the position she was in before coming to EmployNZ.
“I would say that if you’re a creative person or you’re wanting to get into the creative industry it’s definitely a good opportunity and it’s super fun. It’s definitely something that I enjoy doing and you can enjoy doing it too. So just give it a go, give it your all and jump into it.”
I thank her for her time, and exit the theatre. Krystal would be back at the venue for Come From Away, a show she was on the lighting team for. Primary a freelance based industry, Krystal was already making the connections she’s going to need in order to navigate the relationship-focused creative world. If you find yourself at a show in Tauranga’s thriving theatre scene, you might just see her around.
Published 20th April 2026