We caught up with Paula Polkinghorne, Engagement & Performance Manager at ACC to find out a little bit more about working in Newmarket, her favourite spot for a coffee and much more...

N. Why do you love working in Newmarket?

Great transport options and close to motorway access.

N. What is one piece of advice that you would give to someone who was looking at starting out in your industry?

To understand that health care related qualifications provide for great career mobility due to the transferrable skills learned.

N. What would you do if you weren’t in your current role?

Have some independent directorships, mentoring boards and leaders in the NGO sector, and spend more time supporting the Raukatauri Music Therapy centre of which I am a trustee.

N. Name your top three favourite songs.

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
All of Me - John Legend
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

N. What was your first job?

Working in a grocery store during school holidays.

N. What motivates you?

Being part of a client centred team or group wanting to make a difference.

N. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

Coromandel Peninsula, NZ.

N. Where is your favourite place to get coffee or a drink in Newmarket?

Little Nuffield.

N. Describe Newmarket in 3 words:

Contemporary, central, cosmopolitan.

N. What do you wish you’d known before you started your career?

I may have been able to get a scholarship to do law.

N. How do you start each morning?

With good cheer and positive expectancy.

N. What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve received?

Not making a decision is still making a decision.

N. What is your favourite holiday destination and why?

Coromandel Peninsula – bush and beaches.

N. What is Newmarket’s best kept secret?

How traffic management will support the increase in visitors when the extra retail/ office/entertainment complex is finished.

N. What would you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Being part of a loving family and longstanding set of friendships.

N. Name one item that you can’t live without.

My phone.

N. It’s 10am on a Sunday morning. Where would we find you and what are you doing?

Reading the paper over coffee with my partner.

N.Who has had the greatest influence on your life and why?

Working for organisational leaders who focussed on systems that supported best client outcomes.

N. What is your greatest fear?

Not making the most of opportunities.

N. What do you love most about your job?

Having the opportunity to make a positive difference within the organization and for the clients we serve.

Level 2, 2 Nuffield Street | acc.co.nz