Sionekau Lokeni
Sionekau Lokeni opted for a pharmacy degree to balance his studies with a high-performance rugby career.
"I am a half-Tongan and half-Niuean who grew up in Glen Innes, Auckland. Since Year 12, I was fixated on pursuing Pharmacy as a future career as it looked cool to me.
I liked that Pharmacy was a four-year degree that would allow me to continue playing rugby to progress as far as I could to try and crack professional.
"MAPAS has significantly helped me throughout my University journey, both academically and personally. They provided tutorials, study spaces, pastoral care and regular one-to-one meetings with a supervisor. MAPAS also ensured dedicated spots in clinical programmes and offered scholarships, which were very helpful.
"The School of Pharmacy and MAPAS genuinely supported me throughout my studies, always showing care and flexibility whenever I faced academic or non-academic challenges.
"I joined the Auckland Pharmacy Students Association (APSA), and in my last year, I was one of two MAPAS representatives on the APSA student committee. Being a MAPAS representative and part of APSA allowed me to meet new people, make friends and create memorable experiences, making my University experience enjoyable.
"The Bachelor of Pharmacy has prepared me well for the healthcare workforce through theory and practical experiences. I've come to appreciate this underrated yet crucial profession. Pharmacy is more than just preparing people's medications. It encompasses a wide variety of services such as vaccinations and international normalised ratio blood testing that often go unnoticed by the public but are essential for people's health."