Success is nothing new for Tess Kai Fong, 18, who has again risen to the top, beating 268 police recruits to take No1 spot at their graduation.
Constable Kai Fong received the Minister's Prize from Police Minister Judith Collins at Porirua yesterday for being top of her wing, as well as the Ericsson Practical Prize for overall winner in practical assessments, skills files and fingerprinting.
The Auckland-born-and-bred teenager, who was deputy head girl and deputy dux at Rangitoto College, was given the chance last year to visit Harvard University.
But she is certain her future career is back home with the police, saying it was officers who inspired her. "To be honest, it was every police officer I talked to said it was the best job. You become a well-respected part of the community."
With the full support of her family, she applied for police college while still in high school and was recruited to start training in May.
She said the 19-week training had been intensive and it was different coming from school into a police environment. "You come into a predominantly adult environment. You have to be mature: you can't get anywhere, otherwise."
She was looking forward to learning the various aspects of the job, but said there would be areas that would be challenging.
"Probably the hardest for a younger person to understand is domestic violence, and we have an astonishingly high rate of domestic violence."
She will start work on the North Shore but hopes one day to become a detective.
© Fairfax NZ News
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