Student Profiles
On this page:
Sanele Chadwick
BA in Film and Religious Studies 2009
"I built up great friendships and contacts which have led me to continue to be a part of Victoria."
In 2006 I came to Victoria University as a reluctant student unsure about my future and where my studies would take me. Three years later I am proud to have graduated with a BA majoring in Film and Religious Studies, also having studied the Samoan language and culture. With help from Pacific Support staff I utilised my strong interest in youth work and became involved in helping with information evenings, recruitment visits to high schools and Pacific events held throughout the year. I am now a staff member working in Student Recruitment & Course Advice.
I was recently part of the New Zealand Delegation that participated in the Ship for World Youth, which is overseen by the Japanese Government. This fostered participants' leadership skills and encouraged them to appreciate the issues that face the youth of our generation. In the future I also hope to further develop and put these skills to good use in leadership roles.
Paula Faiva
BSW Whitieria 2007
BA(Hons) in Pacific Studies 2009
Current MA student in Pacific Studies
"The past in the present."
The early years were crucial in shaping my life, with later years enhancing who I am today. I was raised in a culture where: everyone participates, everyone contributes and everyone gains. I was born in Tokelau and came to Aotearoa New Zealand as a young person.
'Education is the key for the future' was a key message in the early '70s when I was schooling in Tokelau. This message still exists today. The 'past' inspired me to further explore what it means to be a Pacific person in New Zealand after completing a Bachelor in Social Work in 2007.
I am now pursing my MA after completing my BA(Hons) in Pacific Studies in 2009. Pacific Studies introduced me to a new world, bringing new ideas and more possibilities. What excites me more is the contribution Pacific Studies continues to make in generating new knowledge with the hope it will benefit all.
Kirsten Le Harivel
BA in Anthropology and Pacific Studies 2004
I'm of Scottish, French and English descent and came to New Zealand with my family in the mid 1990s. I started at Victoria in 2000, majoring in Anthropology and Media Studies. At the end of my first year at Victoria I saw an advertisement for a two-week summer school course held in the Cook Islands. I applied, was lucky to be selected and after an eye-opening trip to Rarotonga, Pacific Studies became one of my majors.
I really enjoyed the approach taken by the lecturers in the Pacific Studies Programme. The courses I took encouraged the use of lived-experiences, activism, social movements and art as important mediums for the study of Pacific issues. This gave a deeper context to the situations and concepts we were discussing. It also allowed me to study topics I was really interested in and link my study with work through looking at community development and non-government organisations in the Pacific. Another strength is that the courses ask students to analyse and consider how to move forward on issues discussed. Teresia is a fantastic teacher, encouraging students to consider how their stories, history and experiences affect their views and interactions with others.
After finishing my degree I worked in Wellington for several years, mostly in the community health and youth sector. The cultural and self awareness I gained on the course provided a theoretical framework for responding to some of the challenges in this sector, including the consequences of structural power imbalances, inequities and colonisation within a bi- and multi-cultural context. In 2008 I started my big OE in Japan, and will then be traveling through Asia to Europe on my bicycle!
Chris Waiwori
BA in Political Science and Pacific Studies 2005
BA(Hons) in Political Science 2005
I took up Pacific Studies in 2002 when I started my undergraduate studies at Victoria. I remember walking into PASI 101 amazed by a class full of eager and anxious students who like me were enthusiastic to learn more about the Pacific region. The first class led to another, and before I knew it Pacific Studies became one of my majors. I completed my BA in Pacific Studies and Political Science at the end 2004.
I am grateful that I took Pacific Studies because the courses gave me a broad and alternative view of the social, economical and political issues in the region. My Pacific Studies background assisted me through my BA(Hons) studies in Political Science.
I am now back in my home country, Solomon Islands, and trying to build a career in politics and development. While I was away studying in Wellington, a lot had happened. The political situation in my country is an experiment to sow parliamentary democracy in a soil where it had not grown previously (prior to colonialism). We need special fertilisers in order for democracy to produce better fruits in my country.
Pacific Studies encouraged students to look at Pacific history in order to respond to issues that affect the region. I took Pacific Studies at Victoria as a stepping stone to my future endeavours to contribute positively to political development in the Pacific Islands.
Graeme Whimp
BA in Pacific Studies and Music 2004
BA(Hons) in Pacific Studies 2006
MA in Pacific Studies 2008
Graeme Whimp entered the Pacific Studies programme in 2002 and has since graduated with a BA majoring in Music and Pacific Studies, a first-class honours degree in Pacific Studies with papers in Art History and History, and an MA with distinction in Pacific Studies. An electronic version of his MA thesis on New Zealand’s early colonial administration of the Cook Islands is available here.
His writing on a variety of Pacific-related topics has appeared in a range of peer-reviewed publications, including The Contemporary Pacific, the Journal of New Zealand Studies, Tuhinga, and Telling Pacific Lives, a collection of short biographies published by the ANU E-Press, and further articles are forthcoming. His continuing research interests include Pacific Studies as a field of study and, particularly, interdisciplinarity and Pacific Studies, Aotearoa New Zealand visual artists of Pacific origins, and the reading of colonial texts relating to the Pacific.
Graeme is currently a PhD candidate in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University. His doctoral research centres on representations of the island Pacific by the early ethnologists of the Polynesian Society.
Awards:
- 2004 - VUW Graduate Award
- 2006 - VUW Masters Scholarship and JL Stewart Scholarship
- 2008 - ANU Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship
Salainaoloa Wilson
BA in Linguistics and Samoan Studies 2006
BA(Hons) in Pacific Studies 2008
Current MA student in Pacific Studies
My background is in Linguistics and Samoan Studies and I have worked at various points as a Samoan language tutor both at Victoria University and at the Adult Community Education level. My Master's study builds on this passion of mine – Samoan language teaching and learning.
I am asking Samoan parents, teachers and students what their views are on the place of the Samoan language in New Zealand with particular reference to what they see as the value of the Samoan language, what factors influence learning the Samoan language, and whose responsibility they see it is to teach the language in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Samoans make up almost half of the total population of Pacific people in New Zealand (131,000) and the Samoan language is the third most spoken language in New Zealand after English and Māori. However, statistics now show a decline in the use of the Samoan language in New Zealand, prompting the need for research into why this is occurring. A preliminary look into past and current research on Samoan language loss, maintenance and shift in New Zealand, shows that a significant amount of quantitative research centres on statistical evidence and views from a select few. This qualitative research seeks to uniquely represent three perceptions and the 'voice' of three different groups; this I hope will add something different and unique to the body of knowledge and literature already available.
Using a local High School as my case study and to source my participants from, I, as the researcher, am interpreting and documenting the stories and perceptions which my research participants share with me, and ensuring that I represent these in such a way that their 'voices' are heard. The ultimate goal is that this study will aid in making some vital decisions about the future of the Samoan language in New Zealand, and offer ways in which the language can further be supported and maintained in New Zealand today.