Olivia Witney grew up in Palmerston North and spent her youth running the hills of the Tararua Ranges, which ultimately paid off with an athletics scholarship to Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Journalism, where she also competed in the NCAA Cross Country and Track competition. Upon returning to New Zealand, Olivia worked in sport media and marketing for two years before leaving the workforce to take part in the 2016/17 Venn Residential Fellowship. This experience altered her career trajectory away from journalism and towards further study through Otago University’s Theology department as well as the opportunity to join the team at Venn.
Olivia is deeply passionate about theological education and discipleship for young people. She previously served as Venn’s Communications and Marketing Manager for six years and has contributed to Venn’s bi-monthly digital magazine, Common Ground, and the Venn podcast, Venn Presents. She also taught on the Residential Fellowship in Modules I and II, and at Summer Conference. Olivia is married to Ashton and they live in Auckland.
The world of high-performance sport is marked by dreams and hopes, and by hard work, putting your body through intense, painful, and relentless exercise.
I was five when Mount Ruapehu erupted in 1996. It let fly with a series of spectacular gas explosions, heaving hot ash into the sky and across most of the Central Plateau.
The high-pitch, electronic beeping is the first sound of my day. It’s not pleasant. In fact, jarring and invasive are words that come to mind. But it’s needed: a 5:55am call to attention.