Kaia Jamieson

Kia ora, my name is Kaia Kahurangi Jamieson. I am a filmmaker, writer, musician, and outdoors-lover studying at the University of Otago in Ōtepoti, Aotearoa. I am in my final semester of a double degree – a BA and a BSc, studying Marine Science, Film and Media, and English Lit.

The past three years have been some of the most challenging and rewarding of my life – studying, working and creating; sailing on the Spirit of New Zealand, and putting in some serious mahi on Outward Bound. Some of my proudest achievements over this time have been: winning the Under18 section of the 2021 48H Film Festival; being selected for DocEdge 2022 (an Oscar Qualifying International Film Festival) with one of my short films Scope; being voted onto the Otago University Students’ Association Exec as the Welfare Representative (2023); running a half marathon fundraising for children in war zones (2024); being awarded an internship as a Features Writer with the Otago Daily Times (2024); releasing and touring an album with my band (2025); getting some of my other short films screened and recognised in international film festivals (2023-2025); running a free-lance filmmaking business, and being selected for Pinnacle.

In late 2019, I had the privilege of competing on the European show jumping circuit, alongside a team of other young kiwis. While I no longer ride horses, I still love being active and outdoors, spending my time surfing, hiking, free-diving, and getting involved in any new opportunities which present themselves. I’m also a keen snowboarder, and sat on the Executive Committee of the Otago University Snow Sports Club in 2023 and 2024, in a role dedicated to filming, photographing and penning the club’s activities and achievements.

I am passionate about the ocean, and love to spend time SCUBA diving, photographing life under the sea, and capturing friends surfing. Over the last couple of years, I have worked in a surf shop and as a freelance film-maker to fund my study. This work has enabled me to pay for part-time tertiary study at a dive school, alongside my university degree, where I gained certification as a Rescue Diver. I have loved using my new skills to catalogue my underwater adventures so far.

I am very involved in the Dunedin music scene, and play in indie-rock band ‘The Audio Visual Drop Kicks’. This year (2025) we released our debut album, ‘Betterland’, and completed a nation-wide tour. I have recently begun also playing in all-girl punk band ‘Deathamphetamine’ and have been enjoying the opportunity to play with women in a male-dominated scene. My passion for music also led me to take a job at the local student radio station, Radio One, which morphed into doing some writing for the OUSA magazine ‘Critic’, and culminated in my involvement with the OUSA Executive Committee in 2023.

I have a love of academia and theoretical discourse; I have enjoyed completing my BASc over the last 3.5 years, and have delighted in the range of academic fields and topics I have been able to engage with. I am heading overseas for the second half of 2025, to travel and consider my options for post-graduate study - either in NZ or further afield - for 2026.

I am incredibly grateful and honoured to have been selected for the Hyundai Pinnacle Programme. My time on Spirit of Adventure increased my passion and love for the ocean and assisted me in developing leadership and teamwork tools I have used every day since. Outward Bound helped me self-reflect, distill the lessons I have learnt since leaving school, and challenge myself in new directions, and my time at the incredible Stage Three Retreat, earlier this year, allowed me to examine my priorities and chart a course for the next stage of my life. I have so much gratitude to Pinnacle, and so much excitement for the future.