Under Fresher
How my Māoritanga gave me, slightly forced, opportunities at university
“Far out bro, do you ever take a break?”, a text said from a new Māori uni mate.
“You need a pair of wings,” DM’d another.
“Don’t fucken overdo it this year with all these damn jobs of yours,” a cousin scolded.
How I’ve become a student representative, radio presenter, Te Ao Māori editor, and kapa haka tutor at Massey University in half a year derives from my following account. An account on how it all started for me and now how bloody busy I am.
I can humbly say not many Māori my age have walked in my shoes. I’m 23, to give you context. I won’t call myself young, as our COVID babies are my tēina.
Prior to starting a BA in Communications, I was a full-time multimedia journalist; one who has worked for the likes of Newshub, Whakaata Māori, NZ Herald and Stuff, specialising in Māori Affairs. A double rarity for my age and demographic, who couldn’t give a ‘Stuff’ about becoming a journalist and telling and highlighting stories of our people, us Māori!
Initially, I wanted to enrol with ‘no strings attached.’ As a distance student, this means studying extramurally with no interaction with peers like at a campus, but all online, where every other Distance student had the same whakaaro.
Shit, as a Māori, the lack of face-to-face interaction, or kanohi ki te kanohi, goes against the Māori grain. Two weeks into my first ever university experience, I met my fate.
I received a few messages of awhi and welcome from former Kaiwhakahaere O Pāmamao (Māori Distance Student Representative) and Te Ao Māori editor, Cameron McCausland-Taylor. Stop reading here and laugh a bit at me because I’ve ‘inherited’ both those roles from her today.
I ignored the initial messages (soz Cam) because I was so set on just getting my degree and leaving with no footprint.
Now, if you know us Māori, we like to - without your consent - pass your name on to the next Māori. And the next.
Before you know it - thanks to the pass the parcel of my name - I’m swinging poi, yelling at the newly formed Te Tira Ahu Pae kapa haka group and strumming away on a bloody guitar (typical Māori, aye) by Week 2. As a Māori, that’s not everyone’s typical life experience. But if you know, you know.
I am Te Kakenga, known as TK or Kakes by my mates here at Massey, now a second-year BA Communications student, the Kaiwhakahaere O Pāmamao, the Te Ao Māori editor for this magazine, a Te Tira Ahu Pae Kapa Haka tutor, a seen and known face at every campus and as a Māori.
I now appreciate all of the above and move to offer this sage advice:
If someone offers you opportunities like the ones above that I’ve succumbed to, take them graciously. Yeah, stick your nose up at them later, by all means. But take them. It will eventually pay off in your career and in your future endeavours.