Thank you to the Waikato Student Union for the opportunity to be part of the challenge.Congratulations on running an excellent challenge that was well supported and exciting for all involved and reinforced the commitment and also the sacrifices that students make to achieve their goals.It is a sacrifice that will be well worth it.

The highlights and lowlights of the challenge:

The highlight for the challenge has been the closer interaction between student and politician as was shown at the launch.

Another highlight was the community reaction to the challenge.Everybody I spoke to had a very positive reaction and felt that it would give politicians a good sense of some of the realities students face.

A personal highlight would have been the camaraderie with other students in their willingness to share their fixed incomes to help me through a fixed income stage.So thank you for all those offers and all that support!

Personally, I really enjoyed the time at vege king - it was quite cool to be on the ground floor again and be with the 'real' people.I also enjoyed learning to operate a scooter.

Lowlight for me was the constant feeling of hunger.A major part of that was the need to ration chocolate as I have a major sweet tooth!

As a student there isn't the discretionary income and so you have to manage as best as possible.This means that your options are sometimes limited and you have to look for the least cost alternative whether in housing, transport or entertainment

What I learned from participating in this challenge:

That a well thought out challenge can actually give good publicity to a plight that many people experience.It showed the reality of living on a student budget.It showed that transport would often have to be done on foot or by very economical means.It showed how susceptible your budget is to unforeseen expenses, like our speed bumps.

It also showed the rising cost of living New Zealanders are facing. Rising fuel and commodity prices impact on all budgets and high interest rates influence the rentals students have to pay.

General thoughts and feelings:

A very well presented and executed challenge.An exciting challenge that I'm sure will be followed in other regions and it was a credit to the student union and their leadership.It was presented in a challenging format while presenting a practical message.

It emphasises the sacrifices students make and the commitment they make to bettering themselves and our community as a whole.Well done to the students and we look forward to being able to support them in their endeavours in the future.The challenge has reinforced the supportive policies that the National Party has for students. We will continue the free student loan policy and want to provide the rewards for students for their hard work and dedication.