The 20-year-olds, who are in their second year of study, head off on a Victoria Overseas Exchange (VicOE) in 2015—becoming the first Māori students from Victoria to study at a German university.
Isaiah and Tré have raised around half the money they need to cover the cost of spending the first trimester of 2015 at the University of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg which is just four kilometres from the Swiss border.
“We’ll literally be able to go for a run to Switzerland before breakfast,” say the twins, for whom the Vic OE will be their first trip to Europe.
The funds have come through scholarships gained at Victoria and, for Isaiah, a prestigious Baden-Württemberg Scholarship, a German programme which is designed to promote international exchange. Dr Monica Tempian, the Programme Director of German in Victoria’s School of Languages and Cultures, helped Isaiah with his application for the German scholarship.
Professor Piri Sciascia, Victoria’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Māori) and Dr Russell Harding from Victoria’s Faculty of Commerce have also been helping Isaiah and Tré find the money they need to go to Germany and the twins have had funding from the Victoria International Leadership Programme (VILP) after completing the requirements for the VILP Global Leader Grant. Isaiah and Tré’s tribal affiliations are Ngāpuhi and Taranaki.
Both brothers also work 20 hours a week but contribute much of their earnings to the single parent household in which they live with their mother and younger brother.
Isaiah and Tré, who are both completing a conjoint degree in commerce and environmental studies at Victoria, are still fundraising for the trip but say they are determined to be stepping on to German soil next January.
“We really wanted to go somewhere multicultural that is non-English speaking and has an international outlook. The University of Konstanz also specialises in business entrepreneurship programmes, which is just what we want to study,” says Isaiah.
“We both plan to pursue careers in entrepreneurship and are particularly interested in products and enterprises that have a strong environmental and social responsibility theme—and Germany is a leader in those areas,” adds Tré.
While some siblings are keen to break away from their family and follow their own path, Isaiah and Tré prefer to do things together.
“It’s like having your best buddy with you all the time. We are competitive but not in a destructive way, just enough to get the best out of each other,” says Tré.
When the brothers set their sights on doing a VicOE in Germany a year ago, they made contact with Dr Tempian.
Since then, she has been tutoring Isaiah and Tré in German and has also helped them choose the best German university for their exchange, understand the German academic calendar and decide on a level-appropriate study programme during their semester at Konstanz.
“They are absolutely marvellous students who have a really clear outlook and sense of purpose. They see study as a privilege and have big plans to share their experiences in Germany when they return.”
That will go both ways with Isaiah and Tré currently sharpening up their haka performance—last aired when they were students at Maidstone Intermediate in Upper Hutt—so they can contribute a Māori cultural dimension to International Day at Konstanz University.
“When we return we want to promote Konstanz and the German culture in New Zealand and inspire other students, particularly Māori and Pasifika students, to set a goal of an academic exchange overseas,” says the brothers.
Isaiah and Tré are currently fundraising for their trip to Germany. Find out more at their Give a Little page.