Diabetes Youth
INSPIRED TO CARE
OUR 2020 JOHN MCLAREN AWARD WINNERS Matt Slemint
Studying nursing at Otago Polytechnic In 2020, Diabetes NZ broke with tradition and awarded two John McLaren Awards in the Academic category. Both winners, Madeleine Lord and Matt Slemint, were outstanding – and both had set their sights on studying to become healthcare professionals.
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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2021
M
att has been playing guitar for 10 years. He says, ‘There are just a few things I hold very dearly because I did them before I was diagnosed with type 1. That’s why I love playing the guitar so much – I started before I was diagnosed. It’s like a remembrance back to before.’ He was diagnosed six years ago, at 12. ‘A lot of the time before then I don’t quite remember, but what I do remember is playing guitar and going skiing. So I love skiing as well. They’re my two things that take me back.’ Living in Ōamaru, he was lucky to be able to go on the youth skiing camps that the Otago branch of Diabetes NZ organises each year. But guitar was all year round. ‘Guitar, for me, has become an outlet. When things turn to custard, I turn to the guitar. It’s got me through a lot of stuff. I just hop on my guitar and let it out. It really helps.’ He thought briefly about pursuing a career in music. ‘I wish I could
sing. If I could, I’d throw everything else down the drain and be off busking. But unfortunately, I can’t quite sing!’ DECIDING ON NURSING
‘From a young age, I’ve always been interested in health,’ says Matt. He jumped from one career idea to another. ‘I had a fascination with animals, and I thought I might end up being a vet one day, then I got a dog and realised I’m too much of a sook to ... you know.’ He considered emergency medicine and med school, before settling on nursing as a pathway. He’d realised how much he appreciated the nurses involved in his own diabetes care. ‘They put in so much work and they care
