Pacific alumni celebrate together in Sāmoa

There was huge applause when New Zealand’s High Commissioner announced to the Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland gathering of Pacific alumni in Apia, Sāmoa, that Manu Sāmoa had just beaten Italy in rugby. 

High Commissioner Si’alei Van Toor (Falealili, Saoluafata) was a guest speaker at the event on 5 July, held at the same time as the big rugby match in Apia.  Engineers, doctors, nurses, creative entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and academic researchers had travelled from villages across Sāmoa, the Pacific and Aotearoa, New Zealand. The alumni event, previously held annually, had been postponed for the past few years because of Covid-19 restrictions. 

High Commissioner Van Toor spoke of the excitement and discovery as an undergraduate and postgraduate student during her time at the University, and the enduring bond Pacific alumni shared. She noted there were some 5,000 graduates of Sāmoan heritage around the world who had studied at the University of Auckland. 

“Whether you graduated recently or decades ago, your presence tonight underscores the enduring bond as members of the University’s aiga, and importantly the enduring friendship between New Zealand and Sāmoa.”

It was University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater’s first trip to Sāmoa, and she told the audience it was a privilege to host them in Apia, including esteemed guests such as the New Zealand High Commissioner and Attorney-General Su'a Hellene Wallwork-Lamb. 

“How pleased I am with my feet on the ground here; this an important thing for me in Sāmoa,” said Freshwater.

She said she’d had plans to first visit four years ago, but they were stymied by the Covid pandemic. Professor Freshwater spoke of the hard work being undertaken at the University such as its strategy Taumata Teitei, and that her very presence was a demonstration of ‘breathing life into it.’

During her visit the Vice-Chancellor spent time with colleagues at the Oceanic University of Medicine, the University of the South Pacific and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, talking through potential opportunities.

Meeting the Prime Minister of Sāmoa 

Professor Freshwater was honoured to meet Sāmoa Prime Minister Afioga Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa and discuss global trends and the University’s commitment to Pacific-led research. The following day, the University made history by signing a university-wide Memorandum of Understanding with the National University of Sāmoa. 

The MoU signalled the start of a collaboration to bring about equity and opportunities for Sāmoan students, such as having their qualifications recognised in New Zealand, smoothing their pathway into programmes of study in Aotearoa. 

“You’re all here, I’m sure, because you share our commitment to education and to the way in which it transforms lives,” she told the alumni audience. 

The Vice-Chancellor shared her story of starting out in her chosen career pathway as a nurse. 

“I had no intention of going to university, let alone believing I had the qualifications or aptitude,” she said.

“It was only through mentorships, and through people spotting something in me, that I ended up taking a diploma pathway and finally, in my late 20s, to an undergraduate pathway. 

“Now, when I graduate students as a Vice-Chancellor of a top 100 university in the world, and the first female Vice-Chancellor of that university in its 141 years, it is with enormous pride. 

“I share with those students that opportunity to transform their lives, their families. It has transformed my life, and it has transformed my family’s life.”

The epitome of Pacific success and a proud alumna of the University, Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific Prof Jemaima Tiatia-Siau, acknowledged Vice-Chancellor Freshwater for coming to Sāmoa with her delegation dubbed ‘Team Sāmoa’. 

“Tonight is indeed humbling to witness all who congregate here. It has been the dream of our ancestors, our great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents. 

“It is humbling where we have alumni who have returned home, or remained home, who live, breathe, and walk in the light of true tautua (service), a value we are truly committed to within our University, your University. 

“In addition, we are witnessing a tenet, reciprocity, giving back the paying forward, for the love of a nation in sustaining a future, that our ancestors envisaged, and descendants can be proud of. They are our beneficiaries; you have all made the dream possible.” 

Iatua Felagai Taito was one of the many graduates who travelled to Sāmoa. He graduated four years ago with a Bachelor of Arts and is now a PhD candidate at the University. Accompanied by his father and uncle, he said the event was a chance to reconnect with Pacific graduates, to celebrate and recall the journey of an undergraduate - hopeful, ambitious and nervous about the future. Taito is conducting research on Siva Sāmoa (Sāmoan dance). 

“I’ve been very fortunate to have such great support, one of my mentors is Professor Tiatia-Siau, she has been so encouraging in my research which is the first of its kind, being here tonight with my family has been very special.” 

The Pacific Alumni Event was organised by Alumni Relations and Development at the University of Auckland.