Keep moving. Keep learning. Keep pushing. Never stop. This philosophy allowed Nicholas Christie to reinvent himself at several stages in his life, grow from one professional success to another, and recover from a horrific car accident.

In mid-2016 Nicholas suffered a traumatic brain injury when his car rolled, leaving the left side of his body paralyzed along with a slew of other injuries. Despite his medical team’s prognosis of having a slim chance for significant recovery, he persevered and walked out of the hospital after four months – leaving his wheelchair behind. ‘This was where I realised how close a family we really were at Curro. Old school friends I hadn’t seen in years showed their support and encouragement with bedside visits.’

He believes that the success in his professional life and recovery stems back largely to the confidence, leadership and independence gained at Curro. He learned how to present himself at AGMs and large meetings with confidence and to guide others to rise above their own circumstances. ‘“Every step you take is one less step you need to make.” That phrase got me through this phase in my life and I still stick by it. I spent four months taking baby steps; even opening a Lindt chocolate ball was a huge achievement.’

Nicholas – who joined Curro in high school – chose to find his passion in life rather than study for study’s sake. Instead, between running bicycle shops, building poultry farms and traveling Europe he found his love for retail while working at a local SuperSpar. He worked his way up the ladder in the store and after only two years his team won SPAR Bakery of the Year. He is currently studying a BBA Degree part-time and intends to complete his studies with an MBA.

His fondest memory of school is how the Mathematics teacher, who also taught Science, often indulged the learners’ curiosity at the advanced scientific equations still on the board when they entered the class. ‘He explained the formulae and often showed it to us in practice,’ Nicholas remembers. ‘His passion was contagious and often resulted in some exciting fizzing, popping, and once a burst porcelain basin.’