Lupe - This is Aotearoa

Lupe | New Lynn, Auckland

“I’m just really grateful for Unitec and my lecturers, in particular because in high school, I was the bad kid and I was the kid whose desk was always outside the classroom or in the dean’s corridor, and it just takes a toll on you.

It only takes a few people to tell you you’re dumb, to actually believe it, and that’s what I was thinking about last night. It wasn’t until I came to Unitec where I actually felt like my potential was there, and that people actually believed in me, to do better for myself. I’m just really grateful, because it got me out of that cycle. I got mates who are in and out of prison on drugs and that, and I just think, man it’s so easy to go down that life and it really takes special people to help you get out of that. So, that’s what I’m grateful for. My lecturers, and everyone at Unitec who supports me.

I was born here in New Zealand. Raised by my grandparents and that’s what I’m thankful for. When I lost both my grandparents, it was kind of tough on me, especially because I lost that support and the love that they gave me for all my life. There were a lot of times where I felt alone and even though I had all this family around me I just still felt alone. But with education I always loved learning. I have a passion for learning, and it was just tough in high school. I just felt worthless and dumb, and that everyone else was smarter than me, and that I was missing out on a lot. But then I slowly realised, actually it was out of frustration that I just wanted to find a place where I was appreciated and I wasn’t just seen for my skin. Because the discourses and stereotypes around Pacific Islanders is real. But here at Unitec, you’re valued for your culture and all of that and I just really found my place and found my people here.

So, I’m studying social work, and my passion is to go back into schools and help out the kids who were in my position, and help them see their own potential and help them believe in themselves. The end goal is to get into policy, because you can only do so much in the front line. You need people sitting at the table talking about the policies and the laws that restrict us. So, that’s my goal. I just want to do better for my people.”

What, if anything, have you done differently after visiting this site?

Hen

Hen

Hen | Hokitika, West Coast - "I’m the fifth generation. I wouldn’t say we own it, but we are like kaitiaki. Just having the river there and having all the stone there, it just kind of cemented us as people. It’s made us who we are."
Jay

Jay

Jay | Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui - "II’m really grateful to have been a part of that whole journey from a 14 year old where our people peacefully reclaimed that land. To now where the partnerships between local iwi, local government and Central Government are well enough that we can actually sit down in that space and kōrero, and share and be able to pass on some of the important knowledge about that place."
Karney

Karney

Karney | Aramoho, Manawatū-Whanganui - "II’m really grateful to have been a part of that whole journey from a 14 year old where our people peacefully reclaimed that land. To now where the partnerships between local iwi, local government and Central Government are well enough that we can actually sit down in that space and kōrero, and share and be able to pass on some of the important knowledge about that place."
Jecheala

Jecheala

Jecheala | Mt Roskill, Auckland - "I think being able to share the Māori culture, the indigenous culture of New Zealand and having people appreciate it, just as much as I do, was very enlightening and heart-warming for me. It teaches me that there is a willingness to share cultures here in New Zealand not just for people learning Māori, but for me, learning other cultures."
Tes

Tes

Tes | Tauhara, Waikato - "I know it sounds really funny, but I’m grateful for the time where I lost my home, I lost my children, I lost my family connections, and I’m grateful for the many experiences, the many painful experiences that brought me to a place where I had the opportunity to learn about myself."
Anaru

Anaru

Anaru | Māngere, Auckland - "For me, it was finding out what I really wanted to do with my life, and so when I returned back home, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I managed to enrol into an art and design course, in Manukau, and I realise that this is what I really wanted to do."
Brendon

Brendon

Brendon | Nukuhau, Waikato - "It was really encouraging to be able to see young people like these two men actually passing it forward, reflecting back the mahi, the work that we do out in the local community. For me, that was really encouraging to know that the fight’s worth fighting for."
Exodyss and Tez

Exodyss and Tez

Exodyss and Tez | Henderson, Auckland - "It’s good, because most friends, they leave you, and stuff like that. So, I’m grateful that we’re best friends, and so close."
Jamie

Jamie

Jamie | Hokitika, West Coast - "Tāua passed away, and it was a wee bit hard for me and my family and whānau, but I have a brother up in Auckland, and he’d always cheer me up, and I was just real grateful for him, for those couple of weeks"
Jas

Jas

Jas | Gonville, Manawatū-Whanganui - "I recently, just this year, lost my husband, and I’ve been really, really grateful for the support of friends and family but most particularly of his hapu, his extended family at Kaiwhaiki."

Lupe | New Lynn, Auckland

“I’m just really grateful for Unitec and my lecturers, in particular because in high school, I was the bad kid and I was the kid whose desk was always outside the classroom or in the dean’s corridor, and it just takes a toll on you.

What, if anything, have you done differently after visiting this site?

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