Dr Sarah Kapeli

Fakatau kihe ‘Otua Mafimafi.
Fakatapu kia Hou’eiki.
Mo ha’a Matāpule.
Fakatapu kihe tu’u kimu’a kae ‘uma’ā ‘a e tu’u kimui.
Kae ‘atā mo au keu fai ha lea.
Ko hoku hingoá ko Sarah Kapeli.
Ko ‘eku Tamaí ko Taloa Kapeli mei Lapaha, Tongatapu.
Ko ‘eku Fa’ē ko Judith Kapeli mei ‘Aokalani, Nu’u Sila.
Pea ‘oku ou mali kia Sione Finau mei Te’ekiu mo Folaha, Tongatapu.
‘Oku toko taha ‘ema ki’i ‘uhiki ko ‘ene hingoá ko Taven Kapeli Finau.
Tauange tāpuekina kimoutolu ‘ehe ‘Eiki.
Leveleva e malanga tu’a’ofa atu.

As of 2022, I am a lecturer with the School of Psychology where my time is largely dedicated to teaching, research, and service roles. Getting here included completing my doctoral and postgraduate studies in psychology and I also have an undergraduate degree in sport and exercise science. As straight forward as this sounds, it was far from it. There were many challenges along the way, but there were also many triumphs. But none of this would have been possible without my faith and trust in God. Teu hiva mō fakafeta’i he koe ‘Otua oku lelei! I praise God for surrounding me with an incredible village of support that keep me grounded, always. I am grateful to all the Pacific changemakers that came before me, who have paved the way for me and so many others. We stand on the shoulders of giants and I am extremely blessed with the opportunity to breathe life into the words of our ancestors.

My work is largely influenced through my own positionality – as a child of the migration, as a first-generation Aotearoa New Zealand born Tongan, as someone who was afforded an education in New Zealand. Most recently, I have been contributing to the area of Pacific Psychologies. This involves exploring how Pacific knowledges and Pacific worldviews shape and are shaped by our Pacific peoples to make meaning of and respond to a broad range of areas relevant to psychology. Exploring Pacific Psychologies allows me to carve out space in (a Western dominated) psychology for our Pacific peoples. We need more Pacific peoples holding the pen and leading the way in science, an area that has historically silenced our Pacific knowledge. There is still so much I am yet to learn. But I hope to strengthen my knowledge and build a platform alongside our communities that will serve our peoples – nothing about us, without us! Tokoni ki ha taha ‘oku fiemau’u ho’o tokoni.

To our Pacific communities – students, staff and peers, we are all on a journey to succeed! Not just for ourselves, but for those that stood before us, and for those that stand with us. I encourage you to be proactive, be courageous, be resilient, be resourceful, and seek out what you need in your journey towards greatness. Si’i pe kae hā!

View Sarah's University profile here.