Ashleigh Dawn Ali  

Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tainui, Muaūpoko 

Heke Kawa Oranga, Heke Reo Māori, Poutuarongo Kawa Oranga 

Student of Poutāhū Whakaakoranga Akorau 

In 2025 Ashleigh Dawn Ali enrolled into the Poutāhū Whakaakoranga Akorau – Postgraduate Diploma in Blended Teaching and Learning (Pre-service, Māori Medium, Primary). She chose to study this because she wanted to make a difference in teaching. Since Covid, she’s noticed a huge change in the education sector. She's always been passionate about helping tamariki grow and wanting to be a teacher who can adapt to each tamaiti. She knew this tohu would give her the tools to do that in ways that stay true to who she is as a Māori. Ashleigh graduates this weekend after almost a year of dedicated study. The tohu is more than a qualification to her. It’s a pathway. It’s given her confidence to stand as a kaiako who can uplift tamariki, whānau, hapū and iwi. She sees it leading her into teaching full-time and being able to share mātauranga that empowers others, especially our tamariki and mokopuna. 

Ashleigh’s education started at Te Kōhanga Reo o Taniwaka. It’s why she’s currently working there. Her primary years were at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tāmaki nui-a-Rua. Her intermediate years were spent at a kura auraki, Dannevirke South School, then onto Dannevirke High School. In 2011, she enrolled into the Heke Kawa Oranga – Diploma in Health Promotion, Sport and Exercise Science programme at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. She completed this in the same year and went on to do papers in the degree programme, finally completing in 2018. During this time, she also completed a Heke Reo Māori - Diploma in Te Reo Māori. 

According to Ashleigh, “Te Wānanga o Raukawa has always felt like home and being a Raukura (previously graduating Heke Reo and Poutuarongo Kawa Oranga) and coming back to the Wā was about returning to where it all began. Strengthening that connection and continuing the journey I started years ago. The Wānanga holds space for everyone to bring their whole selves and for me, since becoming Muslim I knew the Wā as a safe space for all. That balance means everything to me. The learning here honours who you are, your whakapapa, your wairua, your culture and for me, that included my religion. It’s been a space where it all can exist side by side, strengthening it all. Studying here isn’t just about getting credits or passing papers, it’s about growth. The learning is personal, spiritual, cultural and collective. You’re surrounded by people who want to see you succeed and everything connects back to kaupapa Māori. You don’t just study here, you belong here.” 

Ashleigh was born and grew up in Tāmaki nui-a-Rua. It’s still home for her and her whānau. They live on their whānau land where they have a feijoa orchard and a little lifestyle block with their many animals and a māra kai. She met her husband at the Meat Works and now they have 5-year-old twins, Akira Rīhari Sultan (boy) and Araia Haeata Aminah (girl) and 5-month-old, Amila Rāhera Aayat (girl). She became a Muslim when she met her husband, and she credits that for giving her a deep appreciation for her whānau. She's a proud māmā and everything she does is for her tamariki and better future for them. 

Ashleigh’s chosen sport of Muaythai was her life prior to having tamariki. She has represented New Zealand and is a three-time national champion. 

Every single day Ashleigh applies the concepts she learnt through her studies in her workplace, at her marae and in her home. Through her work at Te Kōhanga Reo o Taniwaka and during her practicums at mainstream schools and kura kaupapa, she has always brought kaupapa Māori into everything she does, lesson planning, whanaungatanga, and how she interacts with tamariki and their whānau. Even at home, it’s shaped the way she parents, weaving te reo, tikanga and values into her everyday life. 

For Ashleigh, this tohu isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. It’s a commitment to her tamariki, her whānau, and herself that she will keep learning, keep growing, and keep making a difference where it matters most. 



"He tangata, he tangata, he tangata"

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