I’ve done many things in my life. I’ve been a volunteer fire fighter, owned a modelling agency and worked as a flight attendant. I’m now 45 and a successful businesswoman, running my very own natural skincare company, Oxygen, in Nelson. But my proudest achievement is being a mother to my children, Olivia (22), Hayden (20) and Thomas (17).
I met and married their father, Colin Oldham, when I was 22. Sadly we separated and divorced when I was 30. But as life will have it, after six years apart we fell in love all over again and dated for a while, before remarrying two years ago in Fiji. My eldest son, Hayden, walked me down the aisle, as my bridesmaids and I danced to Abba’s Dancing Queen.
It was a fabulous moment.
Alana and Colin are parents to (from left) Hayden, Olivia and Thomas.
Colin is a third-generation hops farmer, and we own and operate a farm in Nelson.
He’s forged a successful career in the industry. We also have our very own brewery, making beer from the hops that we cultivate. Did you know that the international hop industry has its own chivalric order? Last year, my husband was made a Knight of the Order of the Hop by the International Hop Growers Bureau in Brussels.
He was awarded the title for his contribution to the field of organic hop cultivation. That means he’s a lord and I’m a lady – how funny is that?
Both my sons are studying agriculture with the aim of following in their father’s footsteps and carrying on the family tradition. I helped my husband on the farm during the first 10 years of our marriage.
Although I’ve achieved most of my career goals, the role I cherish the most is being a mentor to others. I volunteer for the organisation Big Brother, Big Sister, guiding young women and helping them pursue their dreams.
I had a very happy childhood, but my life became harder when I was a teenager. I grew up in Invercargill with five siblings. We weren’t a privileged family, but there was a lot of love in our home. We didn’t have the things that other kids had. We were the ones that never had the fancy lunches or had to wear toilet paper in our shoes to make them last longer. My mum always told me that it was character building.
My life changed forever when my dad died of a heart attack when I was 15, then my mother fell sick with a terminal illness and I had to nurse her until she passed away when I was 21.
I felt like I missed out on my teenage years, and that’s why I work with teenagers to help them through the most difficult period of their lives. When I owned a Christchurch modelling agency, I went to schools in the city and gave grooming classes, teaching kids how to look and feel their best.
As a teen mentor, I guide young women to realise their goals. I don’t judge or give lectures. It’s about listening to them and pointing them in the right direction. They tell me the issues they are facing in their lives, and I tell them what helped when I was their age.
Alana donated supplies to schools during her visit to Tuvalu.
I am also a business mentor in the Pacific Islands, with the New Zealand Government paying for me to travel to the tiny island of Tuvalu, where I do voluntary work helping 15 local business people.
I do what I do because I’m a strong believer in giving back to the community. I’m a woman who can do whatever I put my mind to.
I work on the theory that you can’t help everyone, but if you make a difference in just one person’s life, then you can help change the world.
