Kicking goals on and off the mat

While representing New Zealand in international taekwondo competitions, Brenna Greene was also juggling university assignments and the demands of elite sport. The experience taught her resilience, discipline and time management, skills she now hopes to pass on as a future teacher.

Now graduating with a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise, majoring in Physical Education, Brenna says the relationships she built throughout her university journey have been just as meaningful as her sporting achievements.

From a nervous beginner to an international athlete

Growing up in Levin, Brenna’s taekwondo journey began at age 5 for an unexpected reason.
“I was a little bit of a mischief kid in my first year of primary school. My mum thought I needed a little bit of discipline,” she laughs. 

One day, while watching the Olympics, Brenna saw taekwondo athletes competing on television and immediately knew she wanted to give it a try.

“I turned to my mum and said, ‘I want to do that.’”

Although she was nervous at her first training session, those nerves quickly turned into passion. “I cried because I was so nervous going in, and then after my first training session, I cried because I didn’t want to leave.”

What started as an after-school activity soon became a lifelong commitment. Years on, taekwondo continues to play a central role in her life.

Balancing the demands of elite sport and study

When Brenna enrolled at Massey University, she chose to study via distance learning to accommodate the intense training schedule required for high-performance sport. She was drawn to Massey because of its strong reputation in sport and exercise education and the support available for student athletes. 

Her first year at university coincided with another major milestone: her first international competition at the 2023 ITF Taekwondo World Championships in Finland.

Balancing study and elite sport proved challenging. She shares, “Training and study were definitely something that I knew was going to be a difficult road to go down.”

A key factor in her success was the support she received through Massey’s Academy of Sport and Elite Sport Scholarship programmes. The team provided practical assistance, advice and advocacy that helped her manage competing priorities.

“They helped out, made sure that you had a place to go if you needed anything, whether it was help negotiating with lecturers, formal advice, physio, everything like that.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own without them.”

Representing New Zealand on the world stage

Competing internationally gave Brenna a new appreciation for the scale and intensity of elite taekwondo. Unlike national competitions, representing New Zealand at a world championship requires athletes to be selected through a rigorous process.

“It’s a big deal going over there and carrying not just yourself and your country, but also those thousands of competitors in New Zealand that can’t go over there and compete.”

Her first World Championships exceeded every expectation. “I wasn’t going over there expecting my very first World Champs to medal!”

Competing in three events, she returned home with a silver medal in the Senior Women’s Team Power event.

Two years later, she travelled to Croatia for the 2025 World Championships. The campaign was far from straightforward. A concussion prevented her from competing in her individual event, forcing her to watch from the sidelines while others competed.

“It was a rough year for me. I didn’t feel like there was much for me to go over for anymore.”

Yet Brenna and her teammates persevered. Their determination paid off when they claimed gold in the Senior Women’s Team Power event, improving on the silver medal they had won together in Finland.

“Going over there, putting my best foot forward alongside all of the other team girls was amazing!”

Lessons beyond the classroom

For Brenna, the benefits of combining sport and study extend far beyond medals and academic achievements. Preparing for international competition taught her valuable lessons in organisation, communication and time management.

“A lot of communication, a lot of time management, which I wasn’t so good at previously, got me together really quickly with being organised, being on time and prioritising what needed to be done.”

The experience also reinforced the importance of asking for help when needed. Her advice for future students balancing study with high-performance sport is simple: “Don’t be scared to reach out for help.”

“I wasn’t a big fan of asking for help. I liked to do it myself and find my own way. But definitely ask for help and be consistent with communication.”

Looking back on her university journey, Brenna says it is the relationships she built that stand out most.

“The people and the friends that I made while I was doing my degree, they’re definitely going to be lifelong buddies of mine.”

Now embarking on a Graduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching, Brenna hopes to bring the lessons she has learned as an athlete into the classroom. Her passion for teaching grew through coaching younger taekwondo students and supporting athletes at competitions.

“I always kind of knew in the back of my head that I wanted to do something with people.”

As a future teacher, she believes her sporting background will help her connect with students facing similar challenges: “I find it a lot easier to relate to students when they are struggling with time management.”

Whether they are balancing academics with sport, cultural commitments or other responsibilities, Brenna hopes to share the practical lessons she has learned through her own experiences.

“I completely understand, and I’m hoping that I can sprinkle a little bit of advice that I’ve learned through the degree.”