Students are all smiles as they wrap up the information session at the Otago Business School.
Forty Pacific high school students swapped the classroom for campus, getting a taste of life at the University of Otago recently.
The South 2 South NextGen Pacific Leadership Exchange is a collaborative partnership between South Auckland’s Pacific healthcare provider, South Seas Healthcare Trust, the South Island’s Oamaru Pacific Island Trust, and the University of Otago’s Humanities and Commerce divisions.
This initiative aims to empower high school students from often marginalised and vulnerable backgrounds by providing them with exposure to higher education opportunities. The collaboration seeks to inspire and equip the next generation of Pacific leaders to envision and pursue pathways to academic and professional success.
The University’s engagement part of the programme aims to tackle the challenges many Pacific students face when considering tertiary education including financial, cultural and geographical barriers.
South Seas Healthcare Youth Project coordinators (from left to right) Tupufia Petaia, Soafa Peni, Salanita Kauapa, Adrian Tevao, and Donald Toutai, eagerly awaiting to take part in the campus Amazing Race alongside their students.
Humanities Project Lead Mary Jane Kivalu, an Otago DBA candidate, says the event was a resounding success, leaving a lasting impact on Pacific high school students from “underserved” and “overlooked” communities.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity for Otago’s Humanities and Commerce divisions, to further highlight Otago to Ōtara and Oamaru’s Pacific communities.”
Students, mentors, and community leaders travelled from Ōtara and Oamaru to the Otago Business School for a day featuring presentations, a ‘speed information’ session with different support services, a campus amazing race, and reflective presentations during which students shared insights from their experience.
“By engaging with young Pasifika students from Ōtara and Oamaru, we have put forward an opportunity for young Pasifika kids to truly explore higher education, develop and identify essential life skills when studying on a residential campus, and to build confidence and ambition for their future,” Mary Jane says.
“Collaboration further bridges the gap between secondary and tertiary study. We look forward to strengthening those relationships.
“South 2 South is the first of its kind, this form of community outreach is also a first; we’re not lying when we say we’re a place of many firsts,” Mary Jane says.
Project lead Mary Jane Kivalu (middle) pictured with Oamaru community leaders Maiele Paia (left) and Hana Halalele (right).
Senio Brown, a Year 11 student from De La Salle College says the experience was an eye-opener.
“It showed me the many opportunities that there are outside of Auckland and what's on offer at the University. Seeing all the Pacific staff and the Pacific support systems that the University has to offer really motivated me to want to go to university and still be surrounded by my own people.”
South Seas Healthcare Youth Project Coordinator Donald Toutai says his view of the University changed after bringing the South Auckland cohort to Dunedin.
He says he left with a greater understanding of the “interconnectedness of the Pacific community” and the “support and opportunities” for Pacific students.
“The University of Otago is amazing, from the campus to the staff, to the opportunities, and especially the strong Pacific presence at the institution. The team at the University’s Divisions of Commerce and Humanities were so welcoming to us, they left a positive imprint on myself and the students from the South 2 South programme.
“As the programme continues to grow, initiatives like this are not just about education – they are about empowerment, representation, and breaking barriers for the next generation of Pacific leaders,” he says
The programme was also supported by Entrance Scholarships Manager Ben Rickerby, Fofoa Accommodations Coordinator Viola Huch, Kickstart Coordinator Tala Fagasoia, Hayward Residential Deputy Warden Michael Mata’afa and the Pacific Islands Centre Outreach and Community Liaison Pita Sinamoni.
Kōrero by Pacific Communications Adviser Viena Faiva