Awatea Christensen (Ngāti Pūkenga, Tūhoe) in Year 13, was awarded a HIWA scholarship to take part in a week-long programme for Māori students who are in their final year of study at a NZ secondary school/wharekura.

Students experienced being a student at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, as well as living in Wellington City. Throughout the week of 21st-27th August, the group of 25 rangatahi attended different workshops with key staff on campus, explored halls of residence, connected with on-campus support, and explored all the cool things you can do in Wellington.

For Awatea, this opportunity was all about seeing if university was the right next step for her, and while she was nervous to head off to Wellington on her own, she soon connected with the other young people selected from throughout Aotearoa. “It was really cool,” she said, “we were all active in kaupapa Māori in our schools, and we could share our experiences and discuss our thoughts on lots of topics. Spending all day and night together we all became friends really quickly!”

In reflecting on her time with the programme, Awatea says she left with a lot more knowledge about who she is, and what her future direction could could be. “When I went up, I was mainly interested in studying education, but by the time Open Day came around, I had my eyes wide open to many more possibilities, like communication. It really interests me, all the different ways that we communicate and express our ideas through languages and technology, and I’m really interested in inter-cultural communication now.”

Since returning to school, Awatea says her main focus is finishing all of her assessments. “I’m considering a gap year for next year, maybe working and saving for studying up in Wellington the following year.”

We’re really proud of Awatea being selected for this opportunity, and plan to encourage other Year 13 students to apply in 2023.