Nerd Nite Selwyn #03: Finding satisfaction and truth in jobs, prisons and the NZ music scene

Reclaim your inner nerd – Think Tedx with beer!

Be there AND be square.

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Speakers:

“Incarceration and its discontents; how many people do we need in prison?”

By James Mehigan

James will discuss the crisis of mass incarceration in NZ prisons and ask if another Aotearoa is possible.

James is Associate Professor of Law at UC and a barrister at Garden Court Chambers in England. He is interested in the injustices of the criminal justice system and how powerful people and organisations can be held accountable for the harms they cause.

“Gigging in NZ”

By Nicole Schaap

Nicole will share her experience in the cover band scene and her leap to the originals music scene which led to a 13 date Nationwide tour. Hear about the highs and lows of playing gigs as a female singer/drummer in NZ.

From pubs and bars to music venues and bigger stages, Nicole Schaap has been playing in bands since she was 15. An experienced singer and drum teacher to many young people in Selwyn, Nicole also has her own current band, Moonflower.

“Would you halve your salary to double your job satisfaction?”

By Phil Wilkins

Once navigating the steel and concrete jungles as an engineer, Phil decided to trade in his hard hat for a chalkboard, making the brave (or as some might say, insanely reckless) choice to halve his salary to double his job satisfaction. Now, instead of designing bridges, he's busy constructing young minds as a primary school teacher. So, was his midlife crisis of swapping those blueprints for lesson plans such a great idea after all? Did his massive career change live up to expectations, and is this a detour something he’d recommend to you?

Phil was a Chartered Civil Structural Engineer with over 16 years experience and instrumental in the Christchurch rebuild after the 2011 earthquakes. Phil retrained and is now a fully qualified teacher with a penchant for taking the “numb” out of numbers for local Selwyn tamariki.

Talks start 7pm