When Arrow Koehler started with us, we asked her to do a series, introducing each member of the team. We couldn't ask her to write about herself so our head of news, Ashley Smyth, wrote about her in anticipation. What Ashley wrote captured our experience of Arrow beautifully. This is the person we came to know and in recognition of her contribution, we want to share it with you. Cara and Alex.

As the newest addition to the Waitaki App team, Arrow Koehler's energy, in addition to her photography and writing skills were an asset from day one.

Arrow’s name came from the Khalil Gibran poem On Children:

   “. . . You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far . . .

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so he loves also the bow that is stable."

She was born in Temuka, grew up in Hampden, and went to Hampden School, Ōamaru Intermediate, then Waitaki Girls’ High.

In her final year at high school, Arrow honed in on her love of photography, and did some work experience at The Ōamaru Mail and Otago Daily Times.

She successfully applied for a year-long cadetship at the newspaper which ended in February this year, and the Waitaki App happily scooped her up. 

Rather than specifically wanting to be a journalist when she grew up, it had more “kind of fallen into place”, she said.

“One of the things I was really adamant about throughout school was, I didn't want to go to university. So, the cadetship was kind of my way to avoid that, avoid a student loan.”

A self-portrait Arrow took to be used alongside her byline for the Waitaki App.

While staying in Ōamaru had not been high on the 19-year-old’s priority list, she said working in the town had made her appreciate the community more.

“You realise how much goes on. You meet a whole lot of people, you realise actually what makes a community work, which I think is really special.

“I learnt a lot that year. Coming straight out of school, I'd never seen a council document in my life. So things like that . . . and just like, the absolute diversity of people was kind of what surprised me. Sort of like, from interviewing priests to six-year-olds, and that was kind of cool.”

She particularly liked writing about artists and musicians.

“They're always interesting and have something weird to say.” 

Outside of work, Arrow had a love of all things crafty.

“I love painting, sewing, anything creative. If I can make weird stuff with it, I'll probably be doing it.”

Her current favourite thing was sewing, and she made a lot of her own clothes - although, by her own description, most were not “work appropriate”.

“I have a bit of an obsession with pockets. So I make pants with an absurd amount of pockets.”

Arrow was looking forward to a new challenge working part-time for Waitaki App.

She liked the immediacy of it being digital, and the ease with which she could share stories she had written. Also the flexibility of having no official deadline.

“I can put on a whole heap of photos . . . it's always convenient, I quite like that aspect of it. Also just the freedom of it . . . I get to go out and see the sunlight in winter, which I really like . . . so yeah, just the benefits of feeling a bit more human.”

Fun fact about Arrow - over the past two years she had taken more than 50,000 photos

“And probably only 200 of them have ever been seen by somebody other than me."

Arrow will be missed.