Great choices are just the beginning

Not many people can credit Bunnings with changing their lives, but Otago tauira and kaimahi Viena Faiva can.

"Malo e lelei kainga moe maheni, Ko eku lele mai meihe Afo e teau - Malapo, Lolo a Halaevalu - Neiafu Tahi, Vavau." [translation]

Viena – who is the Pacific Communications Adviser for the University of Otago and the Pacific Island Student Support Facilitator for the Otago Business School – graduates tomorrow with a Master of Business (MBus) specialising in International Business.

While a proud moment for Viena, she once had a dream of a different kind, she says.

“I really thought I was going to be a reporter,” she says.

“My nickname was Pac-Man growing up, because I talked a lot. So I always pictured myself on the news being Hilary Barry or John Campbell.”

It made sense then for her to do a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Communication Studies and Pacific Studies, which she completed in 2018. She planned to follow this with a Diploma for Graduates (DipGrad) in Marketing until something came along that changed everything.

“I did an internship for Māori and Pacific students through the TupuToa Internship Programme and they placed me as the Marketing & Communication Coordinator at the Bunnings head office in Auckland.

“I really enjoyed it but it was during that time that I was exposed to the HR team, which was the real eye-opener. I absolutely loved it. So shortly after, my DipGrad turned into Management and then I went on to do a Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce (PGDipCom) specialising in International Business.”

As well as enjoying content delving into employment relations, indigenous management and sustainability, Viena had a reason very close to home for choosing to switch.

"My parents, who are based in Tauranga, run a small year-round business venture in Tonga, where they sell at local markets and donate goods. I manage this for them, ensuring everything runs smoothly. This experience became one of the reasons that I went on to do my Master in Business.

“It all just aligned. But now I've become the family admin without wanting to be the family admin,” she jokes.

“On a serious note, at the end of the day, I will forever be grateful to them. This really has been a long-term investment for my parents, and they have done way too much for me to not be able to recognise it now. I can't complain about anything they ask of me. I really can't.”

Viena originally began doing her MBus with a research component but realised partway through that it wasn’t the direction she wanted to go.

“I wanted to finish it and have it ticked off my list, but I found it all a bit of a struggle. It was finding that motivation to keep working after you finish work. There was just always something.”

After talking it over with her family, Viena spoke to her Pro-Vice-Chancellor who suggested the idea of doing a taught masters. Until this year, the named masters programmes offered only a project or dissertation option, whereas the new Master of Business added a coursework-only pathway.

“When I was given the option of the taught masters, I knew it was the best solution for me.”

Viena went on to complete the qualification last semester and is proud to have pushed through to achieve her Masters.

“Looking back now, having that breakdown was essential or I never would have gotten here.

“And I don’t regret anything I studied in my undergrad. I had to go through all of that in order to realise that I wanted to do this.”

Even though working two jobs while studying was hectic, it was necessary, she says.

“My parents and my older brother split the tuition for my DipGrad year and that was the wake-up call that I needed to get a job.

“No one ever told me that I needed to help out, but with everything that my parents and siblings have done for me … it just didn’t feel right that I was here living my best life while they were hard at work supporting every decision I made with no consequences. It's a shock when you realise you have to be an adult, but it was time.”

Family is hugely important to Viena, who is number four of six children. While she’s the first in her immediate family to attend university and graduate, it was a family connection that lured her down to Dunedin in 2014.

“My cousin was the reason I came to Otago. I had actually enrolled at another university but she promoted the life out of Otago and told me that I would never feel homesick with her being here, and that was 100 per cent true.”

“So at the very last minute, I decided to jump into Otago –  I think I arrived mid-O-Week as a late enrolment – and have stayed ever since.”

As well as the support of her cousin, Viena found her closest community in the Otago Tongan Student Association (OTSA), she says.

“I'm not the greatest at socialising and if it wasn't for OTSA, I wouldn’t have made the friends or the family that I did. Everything I was involved in – community work, church visits, events at the community halls, the sports day – was through the Association. I even got a godchild through them!”

It makes her very happy to see the growing number of Pacific students on campus, she says.

"I might be showing my age saying this, but it’s wild to think back to when we used to host socials for the cultural associations. We would be out trying to find people to come, convincing them to buy our tickets just to get the numbers up. Now, all I see is OTSA putting on all these incredible events and they’re selling out."

If Viena is noting key people on her Otago journey, she has to give thanks to Associate Dean Pacific Esmay Lemalu-Eteuati for her support and guidance over the years, she says.

“When I was undergrad, Esmay was in the Pacific Student Support role over at Humanities. There was this time, in my second to last year of my BA, and I told her I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do afterwards. It was that thing of, I had already given so much to my degree. Do I start again?

“She's the one who introduced me to the idea of doing a DipGrad. I didn't know the option was even there until we spoke.”

According to Esmay, she saw something special in Viena from the very beginning.

“She had a quiet determination paired with a genuine warmth,” she says.

“Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand her many strengths: hardworking, caring, and adaptable, with a natural resilience that helps her navigate life’s challenges.”

Esmay’s thrilled they’ve had the chance to reconnect in their roles at the School of Business.

“I was delighted to see Viena’s name appear again. She had enrolled in Commerce papers not long after completing her Art’s degree – a clear sign of the confidence her first qualification had given her.

“Seeing her take the next steps in her education has made me immensely proud, and I’m even more proud to have had her on my team for the last four years as a valuable member of our Pacific support team here at the Business School.”

When it comes to deciding what comes next, Viena is happy to go with the flow – a strategy that’s worked well so far.

“I’m – what do you call it? –  freestyling.

“I mean, I'd like to be someone with a five-year plan but I'm really just seeing what happens. I love where I am right now.

“With everything that happens in life, Mum and Dad always told me to pray on it – and whatever comes next is all part of God’s plan. So there’s no doubt I’ll jump into something. I’ve always thought it might be kind of cool to try first-year Law. We’ll see,” she laughs.

* Translation: "Greetings everyone, I hail from the villages of Afo e Teau - Malapo, and Lolo a Halaevalu - Neiafu Tahi, Vava'u."

- Kōrero by Internal Communications Adviser Laura Hewson