Leigh Summerville is an Accounting teacher at Tauranga Girls’ College. She has been a Secondary school teacher for close to 30 years, teaching in co-educational, boys' and girls’ colleges. Over time in her teaching, she has seen a real disconnect happening with students not valuing who they are and trying to find external sources of fulfillment, instead of looking inside.

Leigh’s job as a teacher was becoming more and more about helping her students with their wellbeing. She realised that helping people was becoming her favourite part of her job and she wanted to share her journey and stories to even more people. Leigh has started her own business, Soul Learning™. This is a business born to help people find and connect with their wairua and inner essence, who they are on the inside.

Leigh has written a book Kahupō Ki te Ao Marama - From Inner Darkness to the World of Light. This book was written to help people who might be going through some of the same experiences as her, to let people know that they are not alone, and that life is a journey and sometimes the hardest things that happen, can end up being the things that make you who you were meant to be. Her book is a beautifully illustrated Te Ao Māori based book that includes stories and practices you can do to help find yourself.

From writing a book her work has transformed into a reflective journal, online resources, a well-being package to get into corporate and health organisations to be given to employees and clients, and an in school programme that she is currently getting into secondary and intermediate schools throughout the country.

www.soullearning.co.nz

email: soullearningnz@gmail.com

Article by Grace Summerville