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I never thought I would be employed doing a job I love this much... The things we can achieve are truly amazing.
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BUILDING CONFIDENCE
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ith diamond-like clarity, the Family Start Kaiäwhina of Ngäti Porou descent boldly claims, “Manaakitanga is my calling.” Arwen’s confidence was not as compelling when she first started out on her higher learning journey, a little over five years ago. “I was nervous and shy and pretty much had zero belief in myself when I enrolled at Te Wänanga o Aotearoa in 2004. “I didn’t achieve much at secondary school and wouldn’t stick it out because I thought I already knew it all. I officially left at the beginning of my seventh form year, but my brain had wandered out the classroom window by fifth form.” The industrious teenager left school and found employment. Three years later, at 21, she became a new mum. When baby Paige Elizabeth blessed Arwen’s world with her presence, it was a huge wake-up call.
“I knew I had to get off my bum and do something with my life. It wasn’t only about me anymore.”
GETTING STARTED “I enrolled at Te Wänanga o Aotearoa for convenience. The campus was located in Gisborne and I could walk from home, which was just around the corner. Because it was a Mäori learning institution, its philosophies for learning made it easier for me as a mother to study and be available for my newborn daughter. “I chose to study social services because I enjoy helping people. I like to awhi, but I didn’t know anything about professional social work. I had to start from the bottom.” Lifelong friendships were forged with fellow classmates during Arwen’s first year at Whirikökä campus, but even more uplifting was the relationship with kaiako Kerry Proctor, who became a positive mentor for Arwen’s educational and personal development. Knowledge gained in her first year provided a good grounding in social work principles
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KÖANGA Spring
HE PAETAHI
and ethics and laid a strong basis for further social service sector studies. “When I stood up on the graduation stage to receive my Social Services Certificate, I knew my academic footsteps had only just begun and I was hungry for more.”
TAKING IT UP A NOTCH The next logical step for Arwen was to enrol in the Diploma in Social Work (Level 6) at Te Wänanga o Aotearoa. “This was harder and more in-depth, and the workload was intense. I felt that I was sinking academically; however, staff and classmates were behind me 100 percent, reinforcing the philosophy of Te Wänanga o Aotearoa, ‘kei a koe te mana’ (you have the ability to succeed).” The final chapter of Arwen’s two-year diploma was unfolding when kaiako Bertha Thatcher was introduced to the programme. Arwen describes Bertha as being a dynamo, who can turn a mountain of chaos into manageable and deliverable issues by not sweating the small stuff.