What are you studying and how does it connect with your passions?
I'm studying toward a doctorate in health sciences. My research topic focuses on whānau Māori with lived experience of disability. I'm passionate about whānau Māori and their wellbeing, so I'm driven by wanting to make a difference within the community and within my own family. I see study here at the 91Ƭ as a way to achieve that.
What inspired you to pursue a doctorate?
I came to postgraduate education later in life, but for me, education is a lifelong journey. Learning for myself and for my whānau is about raising our children in an environment where they're surrounded by books, by learning, by education. We move together as a whānau and see that education is really what will help us to achieve all of our aspirations, to be well and able to thrive.
Why did you decide to study at UC?
Although my whakapapa connections are to the North Island, I'm a very proud Ōtautahi Christchurch boy. I grew up here for most of my life. For me, Ōtautahi is a great place to study, live, work, and to raise my family.
What does a typical week look like for you?
I also work full-time as a lecturer here at UC, so my usual week is a combination of working, studying part-time, and being a member of my community. It can be a juggling act, but it leads to a very full life for me. I'm a husband. I'm a father. I have my whānau with me. Life is busy, but UC provides a good work-life balance.
How does your study translate into your work?
It gives me more skills and knowledge that I can directly use when I'm teaching students so that we can talk about not only the theory of health, but lived experience.
I can bring the community into the classroom with us and give students real-world knowledge they can use when they head into their careers.
What are your aspirations after completing your doctorate?
My purpose relates not only to my whānau, but to my community. I want to be able to apply what I've learnt in the lecture theatre to provide our students with real-world learning. I'd love to be involved in more health research that helps to inform the health system around our needs so that whānau can thrive. Through my study, I believe that I can be really useful and helpful in these areas.
Do you have any other passions outside of work and study?
I volunteer with a charitable community trust, teaching kaupapa Māori-based physical activity such as mau taiaha, Māori martial arts. It's a way of engaging our students in broader ways of thinking about what health and wellbeing is, beyond sports like rugby and cricket. We look at how we define sport and how we take the best of our past and bring it into the future as a pathway for learning.
What is your favourite thing about your study?
What I love most is the continual journey of learning. It's nice to be testing my mind and thoughts, to be expanding emotionally and mentally, and to know that a lifetime of learning can always take me further.
How did you feel returning to study as an adult student?
I felt really good. Education is for everyone, not just for our rangatahi. When we're in a classroom and there are students of all ages, we actually have far more in common than we do differences. Being in a space where we're tuakana and teina, where we have mature students and young students, provides a much richer learning environment.
Any advice for others considering postgraduate studies?
For anyone that's feeling nervous or unsure about whether this journey is for them, I would say just jump in. The only way you're ever going to know is to dive in, give it a go, turn up, and see what it has to offer you.
More student stories
See other postgraduate study experiences from UC students.
