Mikayla Te Whaiti – Past Scholarship Recipient

Mikayla Te Whaiti

Past Scholarship Recipient

Ko Remutaka te maunga Ko Ruamahanga te awa Ko Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa rātou ko Ngā Puhi, Ko Ngāi Tahu ōku iwi Ko Ngāti Hinewaka te hapū Ko Kohunui te marae Ko Te Whaiti tōku ingoa whānau Ko Mikayla tōku ingoa

Mikayla with her parents – Susan and Walter Te Whaiti

Kia ora My name is Mikayla Te Whaiti.

I whakapapa to Wairarapa Moana through my late grandfather, Tikitikiorangi Te Whaiti. I was brought up in Dunedin, however, Pirinoa will always be my home. Kohunui Marae would be where all of our whànau would gather as one. It is such an important place in our lives as it holds not only our cultural and ancestral history but also our whànau memories.

When I was a young girl, I aspired to be a school teacher, social worker, or lawyer. When I think back as to why I thought about those careers, the one common factor was people – helping people.

Fast track to 2017, I found myself enrolled in Law at the University of Otago.

Throughout Covid and the overall struggles of part-time work and full-time study, I finally graduated four-and-ahalf years later!

When I first began studying, I thought that it was so important to be an A-grade student and take part in extracurricular activities – in fact, I aspired to be like that.

Throughout university, I took part in the Te Roopu Whai Pùtake and Ka Rikarika a Tàne mentoring programmes. These programmes were based around helping our teina students being able to grasp how university operated, and to be a support person overall, whether that be in relation to the university workload or in general life.

As you could imagine I became really busy as I was working part time, being a mentor/tuakana, and trying to keep up with my own studies. I can tell you that my grades were definitely not A’s most of the time. Although I had never typically been a high-achieving student, I found it difficult to grasp the fact that although I was working as hard as I could, my grades were not changing significantly. I think that throughout the years of studying I found it easier to be nicer to myself about my grades and not to compare myself to others.

Looking back on my university journey I aspired to be an A-grade student but when I was reaching the end, I just aspired to be someone who could help other people and be able to say that I enjoyed my university years, and the field I was studying. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to learn from other academics at the university and be exposed to continuous opportunities within the Law School.

I am so privileged to have been a Wairarapa Moana recipient in the past. This scholarship allowed me to relieve some financial pressure whilst in the midst of the hectic university life. The wànanga I attended in Mangakino broadened my knowledge in terms of tikanga, and my whànau relations and for that, I am grateful. We were able to delve into the history of agriculture and Wairarapa Moana. This was beneficial for my knowledge, but also helped me to understand why, where, and how this grant that I applied for came about. We were about to learn more about our people.

In November 2021, I gained a job as a Court Registry Officer in the Family Team in Lower Hutt. Within this role, I was able to communicate and work with Judges, lawyers and families that were going through the court system. This has been a rewarding job, although the issues I was exposed to definitely pulled on my heart strings. However, in saying this, it has also reminded me