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Career stories from Pasifika peoples

Here’s a collection of firsthand accounts from people with a Pacific Island background. Read on to get a taste of what motivated them to choose their career and what their next steps might be.

Manutai Leaupepe always knew she wanted to teach. Nowadays she lectures in early childhood teaching, and says one highlight of this is working with students in the Pasifika specialisation programme. "Being able to train our people to go back into their centres and empower their community is another motivation for me to teach."

Find out more about why Manutai loves her job

Read about how Manutai gained her teaching qualifications with the support of her family

Zafar Smith attributes both his decision to go into medicine and his successful journey through medical school to help and support he got from his mentors. “It’s important for people of Pacific origin to have a mentor – someone to aspire to.”

While she was growing up, Ridvan Firestone’s parents emphasised the importance of hard work. But now that Ridvan has achieved her goal of becoming a medical researcher, other values have come into focus. “I’ve learned that there needs to be a balance between family, study and community involvement."

Hopoi Vaivevea was a typical sports-mad school pupil, but some shocks from his parents made him realise he needed to knuckle down to his studies and get a good education. Now he has a great job.

Find out more about how Hopoi's parents supported him into a career of his own choice

Read about why Hopoi loves his job as a sales representative

Emily Maea has a rich full life serving God and the community. Emily's husband is a church minister, she has a full-time job as a lawyer, and they have six children.

Find out more about how Emily and family cope with the many demands on their time

Recruitment consultant Lina Siu helps employers look beyond their prejudices. “I had a lady from Fiji who had all these amazing skills. I got her into a well-paying job, when other people wanted to place her at a lower level because her name was a long PI [Pacific Island] name. Everyone else had missed all her skills – they just saw her name."

Work as a firefighter is full of variety, as Danny Tafeamaalii explains. "Over the years I’ve attended plenty cat-up-tree incidents. Some officers have different theories; they might reassure the person that the cat will come down when it’s hungry, while others will just grab a ladder, climb up and grab it. I guess you could say every job is different."

Leilani Burgoyne had a special reason for choosing to become a foreign policy officer. "I'm of Samoan descent and a key objective for me is to make a difference to the Pacific region by making a meaningful contribution to the Pacific's development, and New Zealand's engagement with it."

Communication officer Phil McGrath gets a lot of satisfaction from his job. “When I hear stories of young Pacific people getting a good education in science and technology that makes me feel fantastic. I know we've promoted the Government’s aims of higher education and reached these kids who are doing something truly positive with their lives.”

Read about what qualities Phil thinks you need to be a communication officer

Social work involves dealing with a variety of situations each day, and that is what Janine Olasa loves about it. "One of the brilliant things about this job is that every day is an opportunity to learn so much more, and it can be from the smallest interaction. There are so many facets to mental health and every day presents new learning."

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