Michael Tololi

Read Michael's story about how Āwhina offered him a whānau at university, and helped him go from a C student to an A student.

"I came from a rough area in Gisborne where there was a lot of bad stuff happening around me. I decided I was going to do better for myself and move to Wellington to go to Victoria University of Wellington."

"Some say I was destined to be an actor, but I’ve always been into gadgets and gizmos and interested in how things work."

"So, I decided to advance my IT work experience and knowledge by studying. I started off studying Computer Science but switched to Electronic and Computer Systems Engineering because I found it more challenging."

"I’ve had awesome support from my family, but Āwhina has also offered a whānau who’ve helped me through my first year. I joined Āwhina over the summer and I’ve had amazing support so far. I’ve gone from being a C student to an A student."

Michael completed a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Computer Science in 2019 and got a job as a technical specialist at the Bank of New Zealand.