Meet Paul Newsom: Helping young women say yes to opportunity

When Innovative Young Minds (IYM) was first being established, two Rotarians – one of whom was Paul Newsom – had a coffee together and chatted about the kind of programmes and activities they could create that would inspire young women and give them new and exciting opportunities.

That coffee led to IYM being part of Paul’s life over the last decade, and has had a lasting impact on the lives of hundreds of young women who’ve participated in the IYM programmes that he’s designed and facilitated over the years.

An IYM Trustee, Paul has played a key role in shaping IYM into what it is today: a place where young women can explore future pathways, build confidence, and see how what they’re learning at school connects to the real world.

From facilitating the opening sessions to designing and leading the Innovation Challenge, Paul has helped ensure the programme is hands-on, collaborative, and focused on real-world thinking.

Paul’s background spans engineering, business, and entrepreneurship education. Over the years, he’s worked with large companies, small businesses, and not-for-profits — but supporting young people has become his true passion.

Through his work in youth education, he’s seen firsthand how powerful it can be when students are given real-world experiences, not just classroom learning. “I’ve landed in the youth education space because it fits my skills, values, and experience,” he says. “There’s honestly nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

He says IYM is an amazing opportunity for young women to get exposure to future pathways in a way that nothing else really does.

“It helps connect school subjects to what comes next.”

That connection matters. Paul believes many young people leave school without enough understanding of the jobs, industries, and possibilities available to them, especially in STEMM.

He points out that New Zealand ranks low internationally for giving students opportunities to experience the workplace or meet people working in science, technology, engineering, maths and high-tech manufacturing. IYM helps fill that gap by giving participants the chance to meet like-minded people working in these fields, learn by doing, and challenge themselves in new ways.

When asked what advice he would give a 15 or 16 year old girl thinking about her future, Paul keeps it simple: “Say yes to opportunity. And once you’ve said yes, figure out what you’re going to do with it.”

He encourages young women to keep their options open, try new things, and not feel pressured to have everything worked out straight away. “Some people know exactly what they want to do early on — but many don’t. That’s okay.”

IYM exists to help you explore, experiment, and imagine what could be possible. And thanks to people like Paul, that opportunity continues to grow.