Prime Minister's Scholarship Internship: Sarah Tetzlaff climbing towards a sustainable future

And through an HPSNZ Prime Minister’s Scholarship internship with Bay of Plenty Regional Council, she’s building the foundations for a career dedicated to protecting New Zealand’s environment.

Currently balancing an international competition campaign with her role as a graduate environmental scientist in the Council’s Water Resources team, Sarah says the internship has given her the opportunity to pursue two passions at once.

“I feel like I’ve got two of my dream jobs that I’m doing at once,” she says.

From the climbing wall to environmental science

Sarah recently completed a master’s degree in environmental science at the University of Waikato, supported by a Prime Minister’s Athlete Scholarship. Her research focused on water quality, building her longstanding interest in environmental protection.

Balancing postgraduate study with the demands of high performance sport required careful planning, flexibility and support from her supervisors. Training sessions bookended most days, while study and research filled the hours in between.

That same balancing act continues as Sarah combines her internship with international travel and training commitments as one of New Zealand’s leading speed climbers.

She began her internship with Bay of Plenty Regional Council earlier this year, working approximately three days a week when she’s in New Zealand, while maintaining the flexibility required for her sporting commitments.

“They’ve been awesome and really flexible around what I’m doing,” says Sarah. “I just let them know when my overseas periods are and they’ve given me projects that aren’t urgent but still need doing. I can chip away at them, and they’ve even been happy for me to take some of that work overseas.”

During a recent five-week competition block in Europe, Sarah was able to continue progressing projects remotely when time allowed.

Learning how science works in the real world

At Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Sarah has been immersed in projects focused on water quality, river health and recreational water monitoring.

Working alongside experienced scientists has provided a valuable perspective that is difficult to gain through study alone.

“When you do a master’s degree, you’re the project manager, the scientist, the field worker and the statistician all rolled into one,” she says. “It’s been really valuable to work with a whole bunch of other scientists who have expertise in areas I’m only just learning about.”

The internship has also given her exposure to aspects of work that sit beyond technical science, including project management, budgeting, organisational planning and policy development.

“Learning how projects are managed and how policy shapes what we do has been really interesting,” says Sarah.

A valuable contribution for the employer

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Senior Environmental Scientist Rupert Craggs says Sarah’s academic background, work ethic and willingness to tackle complex problems have made her a valuable addition to the team.

Sarah came to the Council through connections built during her Master’s programme and approached the organisation after being awarded the Prime Minister’s Scholarship internship. Since joining the team, she has been working extensively with environmental datasets and reviewing and updating programmes written in the statistical coding language R.

“Sarah is very good at R coding, a very useful tool for our work, and that’s been hugely valuable for us,” says Rupert. “She’s gone the extra mile to unravel some quite complex datasets and has pulled out additional insights that were not initially apparent. That’s been incredibly helpful.”

He says her skills and attributes developed through high performance sport are clearly visible in the workplace.

“You’re getting someone who is self-motivated, can work independently and will see things through. Sarah has a great work ethic.”

Making flexibility work

Like many Prime Minister’s Scholarship internships, success has relied on both the athlete and employer being willing to adapt.

“You have to realise you’re not getting someone who is available full-time,” Rupert says. “The key is breaking bigger projects into smaller pieces that fit into those periods when they’re available. That way the athlete feels they’ve achieved something meaningful and the organisation gets real value as well.”

The arrangement has allowed Sarah to contribute meaningfully while remaining fully committed to her Olympic campaign.

Supporting the transition beyond sport

For Sarah, the internship is helping answer an important question that many high performance athletes face: what comes after sport?

“The internship is so critical,” she says. “I don’t think I would have been able to find such a flexible and supportive work environment around my sport without it.”

The experience is helping her build a professional network, develop practical workplace skills and gain industry experience that will benefit her long after her competitive climbing career ends.

Rupert believes that is exactly why the Prime Minister’s Scholarship programme is so important. “There’s always going to be a career after sport,” he says. “Work experience is often one of the most important things employers look for. These internships give athletes the opportunity to gain that experience while still competing at a high level.”

Advice for future applicants

With applications for future HPSNZ’s Prime Minister’s Scholarship internships opening soon, Sarah has a simple message for athletes considering applying.

“Just go for it,” she says. “It’s so important to get experience in the real world. As an athlete, you can live in quite an insulated environment that revolves around helping you perform. An internship gives you different perspectives, helps you learn and grow, and can even give you ideas that benefit your sporting journey as well.”

Applications for HPSNZ’s 2027 Prime Minister’s Scholarship Internship Programme are open from 1 to 30 October. The programme supports high performance athletes to gain valuable workplace experience, develop career-ready skills and prepare for life beyond sport while continuing to pursue their sporting ambitions.