Trawling through the diaries of World War I soldiers isn't a typical teenage pastime, but for one Dunedin 17-year-old, it really paid off.
Jacobi Kohu-Morris is one of 25 Youth Ambassadors heading to Gallipoli to mark 100 years since the first Kiwi troops landed.
He scored his spot by coming first in the regional Returned Services Association Cyril Bassett VC speech competition - and second nationwide - for his speech where he talked about how WWI was the beginning of New Zealand finding its national identity.
This year all eight regional finalists won trips to Gallipoli thanks to the New Zealand Defence Force.
The Logan Park High School head boy has always been interested in history, even winning an outstanding NZQA scholarship in history when he was only year 12.
This speech saw him putting in extra work, reading war diaries from those who'd served.
"It's always a good incentive when it's a free trip to Gallipoli and you get to go with other New Zealanders on the 100th year. If that wasn't incentive enough, then I don't know what is," he said.
He's expecting the dawn service on the 25th to be emotional, overwhelming and full-on after hearing stories from neighbours who have been to Gallipoli about "grown up men reduced to tears by the enormity of just being there where so many New Zealanders lost their lives".
Although teenagers are often perceived as not being interested in WWI, Jacobi thinks more and more teenagers are looking at stories and trying to find their own family connections.
"I think young New Zealanders are starting to wake up and realise how significant this was," he said.
Jacobi doesn't have family connections himself, but being Maori adds another aspect to the trip.
Whether to serve in WWI was a divisive issue for Maori as many iwi were angry about the land confiscations which had occurred only decades earlier.
But when Maori and Pakeha troops ended up fighting at Gallipoli, it helped create a sense of unity in the country, Jacobi believes.
"I think it's an important step in a journey towards Maori and Pakeha living together in New Zealand."
He'll be away for four weeks, travelling on a Defence Force plane and making stops around the world - much to the envy of his school mates.
"They're like `oh you get to go to blimmin' all these places and stay up in really nice flash hotels and see the world and it's all for free and you don't have to worry about a single thing'.
"I just consider myself so lucky."
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