Flamingos, formals and friendship - all in a day's work

Sub-wardens are an essential part of life at Otago’s residential colleges, but what does it take to be one? Laura Hewson talks to three sub-wardens about the rewards and challenges of the role.

For Jonty Robertson, donning a cowboy hat and inflatable flamingo is pretty much just another day at the office.

Caroline Freeman College sub-warden Jonty Robertson is happy to showcase the college's official mascot, the flamingo.

Jonty, who’s in his second year of a Bachelor of Science in psychology, is a kaiāwhina whare (sub-warden) at Caroline Freeman College. Planning and hosting events is all part of the job description, he says.

“We have college events quite frequently, which could be like a college quiz, a gaming tournament, a sporting event and many other things. These are usually fully co-ordinated by the sub-wardens, with help from senior management where required. These activities are super fun to do.”

For Grace Manihera (Ngaati-Wairere, Ngaati-Mahuta) organising events is one of her favourite parts of the job at Te Rangihīroa College.

“I’ve organised a range of events from cultural performances, Matariki celebrations and cooking cultural food through to organising table tennis and basketball.

“The first and foremost highlight for me though is the inter-college cultural performance – hands down. This is where we see our kids thrive, where they feel a little more at home, where they get to showcase their culture and get to find some more grounding.”

Grace completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in physiology with a minor in Māori health in 2022 and is now in her third year of a Bachelor of Dental Surgery. This is her second year as a sub-warden/kaiāwhina – she was an Arana College sub-warden last year - and enjoys that the role gives her the flexibility to work while still meeting the contact hours in dentistry.

The biggest reason why she wanted to take on the role though was to foster a connection with students, she says.

“Most importantly, it’s to be a familiar brown face and wairua for tauira Māori to feel comfortable in the transition to university life and being so far away from home.

“Literally, everything we do as kaiāwhina is to make sure all our tauira are safe and to offer every opportunity to thrive at life. I particularly enjoy building that tuakana-teina relationship, offering support and being able to awhi all our tauira.”

Ben Sidon, who’s completing a Bachelor of Arts in English and theatre studies, applied to be a sub-warden at University College this year because of the positive experiences he had with sub-wardens during his first year there as a resident.

“I really enjoyed having the sub-wardens around. They were all pretty cool and people I looked up to. So, when I saw the opportunity to become one, I applied.

“The main thing that I enjoy about the role is being able to work with the residents – whether this be having a yarn, playing some sports or even getting to play laser tag with them.”

While Jonty and Grace are “live-away” sub-wardens, Ben lives in the college, which can be challenging at times when it comes to setting boundaries.

It can feel like he’s always on call, which makes it even more important to achieve a good balance, he says.

“I find doing the things I enjoy outside of the job and study really helps, whether this be going for a run, to the gym or playing or writing some music.”

Grace lived-in at Arana last year and finding that balance is something she is still working on, she says.

“I try to do daily activities that pour into my cup to cater to my overall hauora (wellbeing), as I know if I don’t feel 100, then I can’t give my all to others and activities.

“The nature of being a kaiāwhina is to manaaki and awhi (to show generosity and to care), therefore it can be challenging when you have limited capacity for when our kids need help in that point in time. However, we’re equipped with the skills to support and refer our tauira when we cannot physically help and we have strong support systems, like our tautiaki, to help as well.”

This support from senior management and the training that comes with the role is hugely helpful in dealing with some of the more challenging parts of the job, Jonty says.

“Sometimes you hear things from residents that can be really heavy, however the support in place for the team is excellent.

“I think that what I'm studying also helps me as a sub-warden. We learn about tonnes of things in psychology that are especially useful like stress, sleep and mental health.

Being a sub-warden can also help with your own studies, Jonty says.

“You're trying to be a good role model, so, at least I found, you end up studying more and prioritising classes.

“You also learn a lot from the job that helps – stuff like university resources, study tips and mental health care, which definitely comes in handy.”

So, what makes a good sub-warden?

For Grace it’s someone open-minded and approachable, proactive, always willing to help, and someone who’s authentically themselves.

“A good work ethic and time management are also essential,” Jonty adds.

“Qualities of a good sub-warden would be being empathetic and sympathetic,” Ben says.

“Just being someone who really cares about helping people.”