Kiwi Rina Campbell
Ngāti Porou, Tūhoe, Te Whānau a Apanui
2021 Graduate of Poutuarongo Kawa Oranga
Kiwi Rina Campbell graduated 2021 with a Poutuarongo Kawa Oranga (Bachelor of Health Promotion, Sport and Exercise Science) from Te Wānanga o Raukawa. She is an elite waka ama athlete who is heavily involved in waka ama. She is the New Zealand elite head coach of the women’s crews, a New Zealand National board member, and has numerous national and world titles in team and individual events. She is currently self-employed and engaged in contract work with Sports New Zealand, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education working within a kaupapa called Mātaiao. Within Mātaiao, she works closely with kura kaupapa Māori and kura a iwi to implement a te ao Māori approach through whakapapa and mātauranga Māori to connect tamariki to te taiao for better health and wellbeing outcomes. Within Mātaiao, she has assisted in establishing a new school called Te Kurawai, which is a Māori approach to teaching and learning that utilises mātauranga taiao and whakapapa atua related to water, to encourage and build positive and relevant learning experiences for teachers and students alike. Out of those initiatives she hopes to redefine what education looks like for our rangatahi working in partnership with their current kura and filling the gaps in terms of the education pathways and aspirations for students.
On campus recently (23-25 September), Kiwi was here with Te Kurawai students who are enrolled part-time in the Heke Kawa Oranga programme (Diploma in Health Promotion, Sport and Exercise Science) providing them with support along with her husband Bruce. This is the first year of study in the degree programme. It made sense to Kiwi to have the students enrolled with Kawa Oranga. Kiwi recommends the programme as through her experience she knows they will be well cared for. Kiwi believes, “New experiences are good, some can be daunting or challenging or uncomfortable, however, this creates resilience and gives rangatahi the opportunity to create new networks. Building resilience is important for rangatahi in today’s world. They are often distracted by social media and technology, and being grounded and having these foundations is important.”
When looking for study options, Kiwi was excited about Te Wānanga o Raukawa because of the components of te reo Māori and the whanaungatanga environment. These were key to her feeling grounded and having a positive wairua in terms of completing her studies. Kiwi states, “The learning environment is important to me. The environment being a Māori one is what enticed me to enrol with Te Wānanga o Raukawa”.
“The beautiful thing is that this is a place for Māori by Māori and operates with key values that make us believe we belong. I believe this environment helps students flourish in their educational journey.”
As an older student, Kiwi was managing work, travel, study, and home, but she didn’t see these as challenges. She was driven to complete it. She doesn’t let obstacles get in the way of achieving. She also found her relationship with the tutors was a supportive one. That is what appealed to her. She found that the standout point for her was the supportive environment. She shared, “The beautiful thing is that this is a place for Māori by Māori and operates with key values that make us believe we belong. I believe this environment helps students flourish in their educational journey.”
Kiwi’s plans are evolving all the time. She wants to create opportunities for rangatahi, take down barriers, and have them think that they can do anything. She is currently studying towards a Master’s in Health Science specialising in Māori health.