Masina Taulapapa

My advice to niu students is to not be scared of doing something different. Being a Pacific Islander can give you an advantage in many different areas.

Degree(s): Bachelor of Arts majoring in International Relations and Art History (with a minor in Political Science) and Bachelor of Commerce majoring in International Business
Wellington School of Business and Government

"..Don’t be afraid to do something just because you may be the only Pacific Islander there. It will pay off in the end!"

I am Masina Lee Taulapapa and I am a recent graduate from Victoria University of Wellington, having completed a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Art History with a minor in Political Science, and a Bachelor of Commerce in International Business.

I grew up in Lyall Bay with my family; my father’s family comes from the village of Saleaula in Samoa and my mother is a Kiwi. Growing up I attended local primary and intermediate schools and went to Wellington East Girls’ College.

I decided to study international business and relations at Victoria University of Wellington because I have always been interested in politics and foreign affairs, wanting to one day work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

It’s nice to be able to do both the BA and the BCom as each call on different strengths. The BA involves a lot of reading with emphasis on growing your own knowledge and then having heated debates with all of my opinionated class mates. But with the BCom it’s all about real world skills and learning to apply them.

As part of one of my BCom papers I enrolled in the Global Experience Enterprise Competition (Geebiz), a competition for students studying in the international business and relations fields. My class mates and I were each made leaders of our own global virtual team.

There were “8” members in my team, all from different universities spanning 4 different continents - Rwanda, Italy, America, and Colombia and we were given three weeks to write a six page business concept proposal for a profitable product or service that links developed and developing countries. The focus is to draw on the diversity of your team members and their countries; my teams’ idea was to develop a business that would produce sustainable biodiesel from Moringa Oliefera seeds, cultivated and harvested by Rwandan farmers. Our team was awarded in the top six Highly Commended Teams out of 90.

I learnt so much from this experience; not just about how to develop a successful business concept and plan, but also seeing what working in a cross cultural environment would really be like. Some of my team members had to overcome challenges such as lack of internet access and political disruptions so part of the challenge was to work within other people’s constraints (or situations) The competition is something that I would definitely recommend to future international business students.

I would also recommend studying in Wellington; there is so much to do here and it’s great how central everything is. My advice to niu students is to "not be scared of doing something different. Being a Pacific Islander can give you an advantage in many different areas, so don’t be afraid to do something just because you may be the only Pacific Islander there. It will pay off in the end!"