Nadia Te Huia

Opening doors for her son and her children to come is what led Nadia Te Huia to knock at the University’s door.

Nadia Te Huia, Bachelor of Arts majoring in Māori Studies and Anthropology

After having her first child, she enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts, signed her young son up at the student crèche, and knuckled down for some serious graft.

“You have to put in the time to get those good results and if you have numerous things in life that you are trying to juggle, then really make sure that you have a plan in place that allows you to allocate sufficient time for each aspect of your life.”

Nadia says she knew it was going to be hard work. “It is. But I probably didn’t realise how much my mind would be opened to different ideas and perspectives which is awesome.”

Her sister’s choice of university and course of study were a large influence on Nadia’s decision to pursue Māori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. But Nadia says she was also attracted to the subject because she wanted to follow something that was important to her. She says being Māori comes with different challenges, mainly around identity, and she thought majoring in Māori Studies would help address these.

She added Anthropology to the mix after being introduced to it through her Certificate of University Preparation course. “I really like the different issues and aspects of society that Anthropology observes and how I started critiquing the world around us.”

Nadia completed her Bachelor of Arts in 2014. She says the support she has had as a Māori student at the University has been invaluable.

“It’s also empowering being a Māori student as you feel like you are contributing to the upward movement of your people and whānau".